Russia Warns of Chernobyl Repeat in Ukraine Due to NATO Aid

• Russia's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova accused NATO nations of embarking on a "scorched earth" policy by providing Ukraine with advanced weapons, including depleted uranium munitions.
• Zakharova claimed the U.K. decision to send such weapons poses a serious threat to Ukrainians as well as Russians.
• A British Defense Ministry spokesperson told Newsweek that Moscow "is deliberately trying to mislead."

Russia's Foreign Ministry spokesperson has accused NATO partners of embarking on a "scorched earth" policy by providing Kyiv with advanced weapons to help it fight off Moscow's full-scale invasion, now in its second year with no end in sight.

Maria Zakharova wrote on her Telegram channel on Monday that the United Kingdom's decision to send depleted uranium munitions to Ukraine for use by donated Challenger 2 main battle tanks—which Moscow has framed as nuclear escalation—poses a serious threat to Ukrainians as well as the Russians they will be used to fight.

"The U.K., by supplying depleted uranium munitions to Ukraine, wants to turn its territory into a scorched and desolate land," Zakharova—known for her hawkish rhetoric and goading of the Kremlin's Western adversaries—wrote, as translated by the state-run TASS news agency.

"No Russian will be spoken there, no Ukrainian will be spoken there, there will only be silence. Like in Pripyat and Chernobyl," Zakharova wrote, referring to areas of northern Ukraine left uninhabitable by the infamous Soviet Union-era nuclear disaster there.

In response, a British Ministry of Defence spokesperson told Newsweek in a statement that the depleted uranium rounds "are highly effective in defeating modern tanks and armored vehicles."

"The British Army has used depleted uranium in its armor piercing shells for decades," the spokesperson said. "It is a standard component and has nothing to do with nuclear weapons or capabilities. Russia knows this, but is deliberately trying to mislead.

"Independent research by scientists from groups such as the Royal Society has assessed that any impact to personal health and the environment from the use of depleted uranium munitions is likely to be low."

Mark Voyger, a former special adviser for Russian and Eurasian affairs to then-commander of U.S. Army Europe General Ben Hodges, told Newsweek he interpreted Zakharova's remarks as "a continuation of this line of very thinly veiled threats on the part of the Russian leadership when it comes to nuclear use."

"It seems that they are genuinely concerned about the fact that their armor will be extremely vulnerable," Voyger, now a non-resident senior fellow at the Center for European Analysis and professor at American University Kyiv, said.

Russia may still be seeking to stop the planned delivery from happening via fresh threats, Voyger said, though added Moscow might also be preparing the information space for a deniable nuclear provocation or false flag.

"I don't want to go as far as to suggest that they're ready for tactical nuclear strike," he said. "But anything below that threshold, I would consider they will be probably willing to do, especially if they able to contaminate a certain area that's important for the future offensive."

Tensions have been high around the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station, for example, since its seizure in March 2022, with Ukrainian officials repeatedly warning of the danger of an accidental nuclear accident there due to the fighting.

Depleted uranium anti-armor munitions have been in common use for decades, including by Russian armed forces in Ukraine. Uranium projectiles are denser and heavier than lead, but also smaller. This means the shells produce more kinetic energy but generate less drag. On contact with armor, parts of the rounds sheer off and self-sharpen, making their passage more deadly. They are also inherently incendiary.

The British decision prompted fury in Moscow. Soon after the announcement, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that "the West is already starting to use weapons with a nuclear component," an interpretation quickly dismissed by Western officials.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the Kremlin could avoid the dangers posed by depleted uranium rounds by fully withdrawing all forces from Ukrainian territory. "I think what's really going on here is Russia just doesn't want Ukraine to continue to take out its tanks and render them inoperative," Kirby said.

Russian officials have repeatedly alluded to health issues feared associated with the handling and use of depleted uranium munitions, despite the fact that Russian forces also routinely use such weapons.

Depleted uranium munition exposure has been linked to long-term radiation remnants in affected areas, including in Iraq, the former Yugoslavia, and Afghanistan. However, it is less clear whether this radiation has adverse health effects.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has said that depleted uranium is "considerably less radioactive than natural uranium" and that there is a "lack of evidence for a definite cancer risk in studies over many decades" regarding depleted uranium munition use.

A 2021 British Medical Journal study, however, found "possible associations between exposure to depleted uranium and adverse health outcomes" among Iraqis exposed to depleted uranium rounds used by Western forces there in the 1990s and 2000s.

4/12/23 7:10 a.m. ET: This article has been updated to include comment from the British Ministry of Defence.