Sending uranium ammo to Ukraine isn’t an escalation

It didn’t take long for the Kremlin to exploit the news that Britain will be supplying depleted uranium armour-piercing anti-tank ammo to Ukraine. On Tuesday, Putin said that ‘Russia will have to respond accordingly, given that the West collectively is already beginning to use weapons with a nuclear component.’ While on Wednesday, Russia’s Ambassador to the US said that the West had ‘irrevocably decided to bring humanity to a dangerous line, beyond which a nuclear Armageddon is looming ever more distinctly.’ 

Both remarks are part of a long-standing Russian attempt to suggest that the Ukraine conflict might lead to nuclear escalation. The aim is to disrupt international support for Ukraine. The idea that the Kremlin will actually respond to the UK sending depleted uranium armour piercing rounds to Ukraine is highly unlikely though. 

It’s worth making clear why the UK is sending depleted uranium ammo to Ukraine in the first place. The issue, at its heart, is that piercing tank armour is very difficult.