The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that the Biden administration is expected to provide the Ukrainian military with an undisclosed number of M829A4 armor-piercing depleted uranium rounds. These munitions could be paired with the M1 Abrams main battle tanks that are expected to arrive in Ukraine later this summer. The White House has debated for several months whether to provide Ukraine with the ordnance — there are concerns about environmental and health impacts.
Discussion continues about whether depleted uranium causes any negative long-term effects on human health, but nothing has been conclusively proven.
The British government announced in March that it would provide similar armor-piercing munitions to Kyiv. Russia has threatened to escalate its attacks on Ukraine if such ordnance is supplied.
Is It Radioactive?
In essence, depleted uranium is a byproduct of the nuclear enrichment process. The result is an extremely dense material, even more dense than lead. When employed as a tank shell, it is effective because its mass allows it to penetrate thick armor. In addition, though depleted uranium shells are incapable of generating a nuclear reaction, they can generate extreme heat and can even catch fire, which can cause fuel or ammunition in an enemy vehicle to explode.
The rounds were first developed by the U.S. military during the Cold War to destroy Soviet tanks, notably the same T-72 tanks that both Kyiv and Moscow now use.
There is concern that the material is also radioactive and toxic, and that residents of Fallujah can trace persistent health problems to its use in the city during the Iraq War. The issue has been so great that Fallujah has been dubbed the “Iraqi Hiroshima.”
However, multiple studies have countered that depleted uranium is less radioactive than its enriched cousin, as it contains fewer isotopes.
The International Atomic Energy Agency categorizes depleted uranium as mainly a toxic chemical, as opposed to a radiation hazard. The IAEA further notes that particles in aerosols can be inhaled or ingested, and while most would be excreted again, some can enter the bloodstream and cause kidney damage. The handling of such ammunition should be kept to a minimum, and those handling the rounds should wear gloves to limit their contact with the materials.
Effective Anti-Tank Ordnance
Even as Moscow has threatened to escalate the war should Kyiv be equipped with the rounds, Russia also has produced vast stockpiles of the ordnance. It is unconfirmed whether any depleted uranium rounds have been used in Ukraine. The Kremlin may simply not want its enemy to have such a powerful armor-piercing shell, as such rounds could actually prove vital to Kyiv as it seeks to drive out the invader.
“This is standard anti-tank ammunition that can be used against anything armored,” Jeff Hawn, a Ukraine war specialist and non-resident fellow at the New Lines Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, told France24.com earlier this year.
“The U.S. wanted to have the most efficient weapons in case of armed conflicts in Europe against Soviet tanks,” Hawn added. “They are extremely flammable and self-sharpening rather than flattening, like tungsten ammunition.”
Russia may not like that Ukraine could soon be using the rounds against its tanks, but the Kremlin is already unhappy that Kyiv’s forces will use the M1 Abrams. Moscow didn’t want the conflict to be a fair fight — especially one it could lose. With Western MBTs and depleted uranium rounds, the playing field isn’t just being leveled, it is being tilted in Kyiv’s favor.
Author Experience and Expertise: A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
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