The UK on Wednesday applauded Russian President Vladimir Putin after he appeared to increase the threat of nuclear war in Ukraine in response to munitions aid London promised Kiev this week.
Putin on Tuesday said Moscow would react “accordingly” after the UK said it would send munitions containing depleted uranium to Kiev for their Challenger 2 tanks.
“There is no nuclear escalation. The only country in the world that talks about nuclear issues is Russia. There is no threat to Russia, it is simply a question of helping Ukraine to defend itself,” said the Minister of Foreign Briton James Cleverly, according to Reuters.
Ukrainian personnel hold a Ukrainian flag as they ride a Challenger 2 tank during training at Bovington airfield in southwest Britain, February 22, 2023. (Reuters/Toby Melville)
PUTIN SAYS RUSSIA WILL REACT “FOLLOWING” IF THE WEST SENDS DEPLETED URANIUM AMMUNITION
He cleverly tried to counter Putin’s claims that the munitions contained a “nuclear component” and told reporters that “just because the word uranium is in the title of the depleted uranium munitions, they are not nuclear munitions, they are purely conventional munitions “.
Depleted uranium has been used for decades in modern warfare due to the additional penetrating power it provides.
Depleted uranium is not as radioactive as nuclear munitions, although it is still considered dangerous to humans if it enters the skin through shrapnel, and there have been a few recorded cases of “hot spots”.
This is not the first time Russia has tried to justify the use of nuclear weapons not only in Ukraine but against the UK
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks via video conference at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia January 30. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin pool photo via AP)
ZELENSKYY SHARES SHOCKING VIDEO OF RUSSIAN MISSILE ATTACK ON CIVILIAN APARTMENTS IN UKRAINE
In September a former Putin adviser joined a BBC radio program and before being asked any questions began a tirade about how the Western world, including the US and UK, would be the “target” of a nuclear attack for their help to Ukraine.
The Kremlin has also been linked to several suspicious and deadly attacks in the UK using dangerous and radioactive substances against its former operatives living there.
The attacks famously took place in broad daylight, often in public, and often with no sign of the culprits who famously used ordinary-looking objects like poison umbrellas and attacked in unsuspecting areas like quiet country towns.
Rescue workers in protective suits search an area after a man and woman were exposed to Novichok nerve agent on July 6, 2018 in Salisbury, England. (Jack Taylor/Getty Images)
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Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a key Putin ally, also jumped into the conversation on Wednesday and warned that “Russia doesn’t just have depleted uranium.”
“We must reduce this tendency to escalate the conflict and move towards a peaceful solution,” he added.
