Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Nikolai Patrushev said that the destruction of depleted uranium ammunition supplied to Ukraine led to the appearance of a radioactive cloud in Europe.

During a meeting in Syktyvkar on national security issues in the Northwestern Federal District, Patrushev noted that during the G7 summit that started in Japan, "under pressure from the United States," the issue of assistance to Ukraine would be raised.

As Patrushev noted, the United States has repeatedly "helped" other countries.

"Ukraine was also "helped". They put pressure on their satellites and supplied ammunition with depleted uranium. Their destruction led to the fact that the radioactive cloud headed towards Western Europe. And in Poland, an increase in radiation has already been recorded," Patrushev said.

In addition, according to Patrushev, the United States "is developing and already using chemical and biological weapons, including on the territory of Ukraine."

Recall that in March, British Deputy Secretary of Defense Annabelle Goldie announced her intention to supply Kyiv with depleted uranium ammunition. According to her, such shells effectively cope with the defeat of modern tanks and armored vehicles.

At the end of April, British Deputy Defense Minister James Heappey clarified that London has no obligations to eliminate the consequences of their use after the end of the conflict.

Commenting on London's decision, the Russian Defense Ministry said that the use of depleted uranium ammunition by the military of the Armed Forces of Ukraine would cause irreparable harm to their health.

The head of the Radiation, Chemical and Biological Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Igor Kirillov, stressed at the end of March that Western countries are aware of the consequences of the use of these munitions, but declare their readiness to supply them.

According to the Ministry of Defense, the use of depleted uranium shells will lead to contamination of significant acreage in Ukraine, which, in turn, will cause huge economic damage to the country's agro-industrial complex.

At the same time, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia has something to respond to the supply of depleted uranium shells to Ukraine.

In an interview with journalist Pavel Zarubin on the air of the Russia 24 TV channel, the head of state said that the Russian side has "hundreds of thousands of such shells", but they have not yet been used.

The President also noted that such shells do not belong to the category of weapons of mass destruction. However, Putin explained, the core of a depleted uranium projectile generates so-called radiation dust.

The Russian leader recalled that it was after the use of such ammunition in the territory of the former Yugoslavia and Iraq that the statistics on cancer increased many times.

"In this sense, it can be attributed to the weapon most harmful and dangerous to humans. Not only for combatants, for combatants, for the environment and for the people living in this territory," Putin said.

In addition, the president stressed that the remnants of the shells will "dust", polluting the acreage where they will be used.

In early May, the Russian Foreign Ministry called on the UN to condemn plans to supply Kyiv with depleted uranium shells. In a statement, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, noted that in armed conflicts, depleted uranium ammunition was used exclusively by NATO countries.

In particular, the diplomat recalled the existence of a report approved by PACE on the transboundary consequences of the bombing of Yugoslavia for the environment and the health of citizens.

"We are already accustomed to the duplicitous and deceitful position of the states of the Western bloc, but we are extremely disappointed that representatives of the UN Secretariat also hush up the obvious negative consequences of the use of depleted uranium ammunition," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.