Russia’s tanks in Ukraine will be vulnerable from all positions, “even where the armor is thickest,” Newsweek has been told, as new reports suggest the U.S. could be gearing up to provide Kyiv with depleted uranium (DU) tank ammunition.
Unnamed U.S. officials told The Wall Street Journal on Monday that Washington is set to send DU ammunition to Ukraine, which would be fired from U.S.-provided Abrams tanks. The U.S. has committed to sending 31 Abrams main battle tanks, and they are expected to arrive in the war-torn country in the fall.
There are no significant hurdles to the U.S. sending DU ammunition, a senior administration official told the publication.
DU rounds are frequently used by many armed forces, including the U.S. and the U.K. The rounds are denser than lead, and they self-sharpen when they make impact with a target. They are kinetic rounds, which do not explode, but penetrate a tank’s armor when fired at high speeds and can be used to engage enemies at a greater distance. They wouldn’t be fired from Ukraine’s Soviet-era tanks, experts say, and would likely only be compatible with Western-made military vehicles.
However, they remain controversial because of conflicting studies into the health impacts of DU munitions. “The health hazard posed by DU continues to be a matter of hot debate,” military technology expert David Hambling previously told Newsweek.
DU munitions are “the most potent tank ammunition that’s around,” according to former British Army Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, who previously commanded U.K. and NATO chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense (CBRN) forces.
DU munitions “pack a far bigger punch than traditional tank ammunition,” de Bretton-Gordon told Newsweek, adding: “As far as killing Russian tanks, it is incredibly effective.”
“Critically, depleted uranium will mean you can take Russian tanks out from any position at all, even where the armor is thickest,” de Bretton-Gordon argued.
The U.K. already confirmed in March that it would send DU rounds for its Challenger 2 main battle tanks, which have now made their way to Ukraine.
DU rounds are “highly effective in defeating modern tanks and armored vehicles,” the British minister of state for defense, Annabel Goldie, said at the time.
It makes “complete sense” to send Abrams tanks with DU rounds, de Bretton-Gordon said.
“It’s not at all surprising that this is going with the Abrams,” retired U.S. Marine Corps Colonel Mark Cancian told Newsweek.
The U.K’s armed forces have “used depleted uranium in its armor-piercing shells for decades” and it is a “standard component,” a British defense ministry spokesperson said in March.
But the move has nonetheless angered Russian President Vladimir Putin, who suggested there was a “nuclear” element to the move.
“It is a standard component and has nothing to do with nuclear weapons or capabilities,” the U.K. defense ministry spokesperson said. “Russia knows this, but is deliberately trying to disinform.”
Western-made main battle tanks like the Abrams, Challenger 2s or the Leopard tanks – which have been donated by the U.S., Germany, U.K. and other international allies – are far more likely to be protected from DU rounds, de Bretton-Gordon said. “Russian tank armor is not – in any way – as good and strong as Western armor,” he added.
Western tanks opt for powerful guns and heavy armor on their main battle tanks, often having more crew members and storing ammunition away from the turret, experts say. They emphasize fire control, but Russian tanks favor smaller designs with fewer crew members surrounded by less armored protection, but with an auto-loader design. However, it isn’t just the DU rounds that make Western tanks more effective, Cancian argued, adding features such as better fire control also play a key role.
Moscow’s forces “prefer to have a more mobile tank rather than a more armored tank,” de Bretton-Gordon added.