The upcoming tanks in Ukraine’s arsenal will be equipped with armor-piercing depleted uranium rounds, a contentious choice due to potential associations with health concerns like cancer and birth defects.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced on Tuesday that Ukraine is on the verge of receiving M1 Abrams tanks from the United States.

This move comes as Kyiv’s forces continue to make consistent progress in their counter-offensive against Moscow’s troops.

Earlier this year, Washington committed to delivering these tanks to Kyiv, as part of a broader package of over $43 billion in security assistance pledged by the United States since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

“I’m… pleased to announce that the M1 Abrams tanks that the United States had previously committed to will be entering Ukraine soon,” Austin said at the opening of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Germany, as reported by Euro News.

Earlier this month, it was announced that the tanks would be equipped with 120mm depleted uranium armor-piercing rounds.

These munitions have sparked controversy because of their historical association with health concerns, such as cancer and birth defects, in regions where they have been employed in previous conflicts, although it has not been definitively established that they directly caused these problems.

Written by staff