KYIV, Ukraine
The United States has announced it will send controversial weapons to Ukraine as part of more than $1bn (£800m) in military and humanitarian aid.
The tank rounds are for M1 Abrams tanks that are due to be delivered to Ukraine this year |
Russia condemned the move to
equip US Abrams tanks with shells strong enough to pierce conventional tank
armour.
They are made of depleted
uranium - naturally occurring uranium stripped of much of its radioactive
material.
Overnight, suspected Ukrainian
drone attacks were reported on the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and near
Moscow.
Unconfirmed video showed what
appeared to be a blast in central Rostov where, according to Governor Vasily
Golubev, one person was lightly injured and several cars were damaged.
He said that two drones had
targeted the city - situated in the south of Russia - and both had been shot
down.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin
said a drone that targeted the town of Ramenskoye had also been shot down and
no damage had been reported.
The Russian reports could not
be verified independently.
The announcement of a new
security package for Ukraine came during top US diplomat Antony Blinken's visit
to Kyiv.
The 120mm uranium tank rounds
- included in $175 million of US military equipment for Ukraine - are for M1
Abrams tanks due to be delivered to Ukraine later this year.
The rounds are made of
depleted uranium, which is naturally occurring uranium that has been stripped
of much - but not all - of its radioactive matter.
Uranium is a very dense metal,
so depleted uranium can be used to reinforce the armour-plating on tanks. It
can also be put on the tips of bullets, mortar rounds and tank shells, making
them strong enough to penetrate conventional tank armour.
These types of shells sharpen on impact, which further increases their ability to bore through armour, and they ignite after contact.
The UN Scientific Committee on
the Effects of Atomic Radiation has found no significant poisoning is caused by
exposure to depleted uranium but another UN body, the International Atomic
Energy Agency, says there could be a risk of radiation to individuals who
handle fragments of depleted uranium rounds.
This is a U-turn from March,
when a spokesman for the Pentagon said the US would not be sending any depleted
uranium munitions to Ukraine. The UK, however, has sent them.
The US will also provide
anti-armour systems, tactical air navigation systems and additional ammunition
for Himars
missiles.
"This new assistance will
help sustain it and build further momentum," Mr Blinken said.
The Russian embassy in
Washington denounced the decision as "an indicator of inhumanity",
adding that the US was "deluding itself by refusing to accept the failure
of the Ukrainian military's so-called counter-offensive".
Since June, Ukraine's
territorial gains in the counter-offensive have been very small, but Ukrainian
generals claim they
have breached Russia's formidable first line of defences in the south.
On Wednesday, 17 people,
including a child, were killed in an
attack on the city of Kostyantynivka, in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk
region.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelensky blamed Moscow for the attack but Russia is yet to comment.
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