00:41Belarus: 'Russia will supply us with ammunition with real uranium' - Belarusian President Lukashenko on risk of escalation
If Britain supplies Ukraine with depleted uranium ammunition, Russia may deliver 'ammunition with real uranium' in Belarus, said the republic's President Alexander Lukashenko on Wednesday Khatyn memorial complex, in response to a statement by UK Minister of State for Defence Annabel Goldie.
"Russia will supply us with ammunition with real uranium. If they [the UK] are reckless, they will push this process. That is the most frightening and most dangerous thing, so we have to move away from insanity a little bit," Lukashenko said.
The head of the republic added that, if depleted uranium ammunition explodes on the positions of Russian troops, it will be 'a lesson for the whole planet'.
Lukashenko also urged not to start 'this trend of escalation', in a reminder to the collective West that the Russian arsenal has more than just depleted uranium.
"We should move, as Putin and Xi Jinping talked about, towards a peaceful settlement, " the leader stressed.
On Monday, UK Minister of State for Defence Annabel Goldie said that "alongside our granting of a squadron of Challenger 2 main battle tanks" the United Kingdom would "provide ammunition including armour piercing rounds which contain depleted uranium."
"Such rounds are highly effective in defeating modern tanks and armoured vehicles," Goldie explained.
The UK Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday that depleted uranium "is a standard component and has nothing to do with nuclear weapons or capabilities."
"Russia knows this, but is deliberately trying to disinform," the ministry added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that 'the West has really decided to fight Russia to the last Ukrainian - not in words, but in deeds'.
"If all this happens, Russia will be forced to react accordingly. I mean that the collective West starts to use weapons with a nuclear component," the head of state stressed.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
00:41If Britain supplies Ukraine with depleted uranium ammunition, Russia may deliver 'ammunition with real uranium' in Belarus, said the republic's President Alexander Lukashenko on Wednesday Khatyn memorial complex, in response to a statement by UK Minister of State for Defence Annabel Goldie.
"Russia will supply us with ammunition with real uranium. If they [the UK] are reckless, they will push this process. That is the most frightening and most dangerous thing, so we have to move away from insanity a little bit," Lukashenko said.
The head of the republic added that, if depleted uranium ammunition explodes on the positions of Russian troops, it will be 'a lesson for the whole planet'.
Lukashenko also urged not to start 'this trend of escalation', in a reminder to the collective West that the Russian arsenal has more than just depleted uranium.
"We should move, as Putin and Xi Jinping talked about, towards a peaceful settlement, " the leader stressed.
On Monday, UK Minister of State for Defence Annabel Goldie said that "alongside our granting of a squadron of Challenger 2 main battle tanks" the United Kingdom would "provide ammunition including armour piercing rounds which contain depleted uranium."
"Such rounds are highly effective in defeating modern tanks and armoured vehicles," Goldie explained.
The UK Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday that depleted uranium "is a standard component and has nothing to do with nuclear weapons or capabilities."
"Russia knows this, but is deliberately trying to disinform," the ministry added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that 'the West has really decided to fight Russia to the last Ukrainian - not in words, but in deeds'.
"If all this happens, Russia will be forced to react accordingly. I mean that the collective West starts to use weapons with a nuclear component," the head of state stressed.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.