U.S. to provide Ukraine with depleted uranium shells for Abrams tanks

The Biden administration will provide Ukraine with depleted uranium shells after several weeks of internal debate over how to equip the Abrams tanks that the U.S. is handing over to Kyiv.

This was reported by RBC-Ukraine with reference to The Wall Street Journal.

A senior administration official told the paper that there appear to be no major obstacles to the delivery of this sort of ammunition.

The Pentagon has called for the Abrams tanks the U.S. is supplying to Ukraine to be armed with depleted uranium shells, which are regularly used by the U.S. Army and are very effective against Russian tanks. Fired at high velocity, the shells are capable of penetrating the frontal armor of a Russian tank with a gap.

"The projectile hits like a freight train," said Scott Boston, a military analyst at Rand Corporation and former Army artillery officer. "It's very long and very dense. So, it directs a lot of kinetic energy to a specific point in the enemy's armor."

Earlier, the transfer of depleted uranium shells was announced by the United Kingdom. They were delivered together with a squadron of Challenger 2 main battle tanks.

Author – Anastasiya Glotova, 13/06/2023