Former deputy head of the Ministry of Emergencies Brazhnikov: Kiev’s use of uranium bombs threatens eco-catastrophic

MOSCOW, March 21 – RIA Novosti. The possible use of depleted uranium ammunition by Ukraine in the Donbass could pose a threat to the difficult environmental situation in this region, Yuriy Brazhnikov, former deputy head of the Ministry of Emergencies of Russia, was a member of the steering group of Focus International in 1999. The coalition providing humanitarian aid to the people of Yugoslavia told RIA Novosti.

Earlier, British Deputy Secretary of Defense Annabelle Goldie said that with the supply of Challenger 2 battle tanks to Ukraine, the country will supply ammunition, including armor-piercing shells containing depleted uranium.

“The use of uranium ammunition is unacceptable, it can lead to a rapid environmental disaster. These areas were already exposed to radiation after the Chernobyl accident,” Brazhnikov said.

He recalled that in 1999, NATO first used about 31,000 uranium-238 cluster munitions during massive bombardments of military and civilian targets in southern Serbia and certain areas of Kosovo. The main targets of the alliance’s aviation attacks were radar stations accompanying the aircraft.

In particular, with the help of uranium-tipped ammunition, a repeater was disabled near the town of Vranje, located on the Plachkovitsa mountain range. The same attack was carried out from the air on an antenna post with aerial escort equipment on a mountain near the village of Borovac, 20 kilometers south of Vranje. A military unit was bombed in Vran. A gamma ray survey of the area was conducted along the entire perimeter of the facility and along the main streets of the city. The total length of the studied route, including the area of ​​​​the destroyed military barracks, was more than 6 kilometers.

Brazhnikov noted the high intensity of the use of bullets with uranium-238. During the bombing, many did not explode and went down to a depth of one meter. Necessary soil samples were taken to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the content of radionuclides, including uranium.

According to him, on April 17, 1999, one of the uranium core unexploded munitions was delivered to the Vranje Medical Center for examination. The laboratory analysis carried out confirmed the presence of depleted uranium-238 in the ammunition.

“The exposure dose rate of gamma radiation measured directly at the tip surface with the DRG-OGT device was 530-560 μR/h, which is 45 times higher than the natural radiation background for this region. Brazhnikov emphasized that the prerequisites for the occurrence of an ecological disaster are clear.

He reminded that the first results of the radiation monitoring of the Vranje region, in which NATO used cluster bombs containing uranium-238 on a large scale, were obtained on July 24, four months after the bombing of the territory of Yugoslavia began. As a result of the investigation, the UN was informed immediately.

Literally a week ago, a special flight of the Ministry of Emergencies Il-76 delivered chemical and radiometric automotive laboratories from Moscow to Belgrade. This action was carried out within the framework of the international program “Focus” with the participation of Russia, Switzerland, Austria and Greece.