The Brutal Weapons in Ukraine – WWIII Prelude News 12/07/2023 – Cluster Bombs and Depleted Uranium

Howard Crane | July 12, 2023

The war in Ukraine has entered its 17th month, marked by a series of intense events, including sieges, war crimes, and prisoner exchanges. This protracted conflict has taken a toll on both sides, resulting in significant human and material losses. Since April 2022, President Zelenskyy has been urgently appealing to Western nations for weapons and military hardware, intensifying his requests over time.

With recent revelations from leaked Pentagon files doubt has been cast on Ukraine’s ability to expel Russia from its territory, a reality solidified by the fall of the city of Bakhmut. This setback has compelled the United Kingdom and United States to resurrect controversial weapons—infamous for their devastating effects on both combatants and civilians alike. The deployment of depleted uranium and cluster bombs in Ukraine demonstrates a disregard for both Ukrainians and their country, suggesting a mission focused on inflicting suffering upon Russia, regardless of the cost to humanity.

Depleted Uranium Shells

In March of this year, the United Kingdom pledged Depleted Uranium shells to the Ukrainian war effort. The UK branch of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament condemned this decision as reckless and President Vladimir Putin warned the UK against sending weapons with a “nuclear component.” The UK Ministry of Defense responded by saying “The British Army has used depleted uranium in its armour piercing shells for decades,” as if that somehow makes it okay.

What Are Depleted Uranium Shells?

In the process of generating electricity from nuclear power plants, uranium is depleted. This substance has to be repurposed or hidden indefinitely underground during its 4.5 billion year half-life. Depleted uranium (DU) has a number of uses such as counterweights, radiation shielding, armor plating and armor-piercing projectiles. DU itself is supposedly harmless, emitting only alpha radiation, unless it’s ingested/inhaled. The problem comes in when it’s fired from a weapon, which naturally causes a lot of heat and friction, causing dust and vapor to surround the combatant in a cloud of radioactivity. Furthermore, the combatants or civilians on the receiving end of these projectiles can also be harmed through vapour, dust, or if the projectile breaks their skin.

But that’s the official story. DU shells were used extensively by the UK and US in the first and second Gulf Wars (1991, 2003) as well as in the Balkans (1999), with both areas seeing a “sharp rise in the incidence rate of some cancers like breast cancer or lymphoma in the areas they were used. Other illnesses linked to DU include kidney failure, nervous system disorders, lung disease and reproductive problems.” (UK CND) Although there is no data to conclusively draw a link between these events, no government bodies seem interested in researching the subject.

The Russian President and Ministry of Defense warned the West on several occasions that whatever military equipment and whatever combatants appear in Ukraine, they will be destroyed. They kept their word on May 18th when they struck an arms depot in Ternopoli (western Ukraine), causing an explosion so big many witnesses online assumed Russia had fired a tactical nuke. The stockpile was so big, its explosion could easily be mistaken for a mushroom cloud.

Depleted Uranium Shells were amoung that arms stockpile, and the city and anywhere miles down-wind, is now irradiated. Incidents of cancer are guaranteed to rise in this area and the soil is now damaged.
We need to remember that Ukraine is a large part of the world’s bread basket. Soon we may all be eating radioactive bread and cereal.

 

 

 

 

Cluster Bombs

In June of 2022, Germany offered its stockpile of cluster bombs to Ukraine. Their Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said they have a “moral obligation” to provide these “legitimate weapons” for Ukraine’s defense against Russian aggression. Which is very strange, since Germany is a signatory of the 2008 “Convention on Cluster Munitions”, outlawing the production, possession, and use of the deadly weapons. Germany has not yet delivered their stockpile, thankfully, and probably due to backlash from Amnesty International as well as other human rights groups.

Last week the United States pledged cluster bombs in lieu of the munitions they ran out of sending to Ukraine. The US isn’t a signatory to the convention, but the regime still felt the need to send their spokespeople on a media tour to make up excuses for such an insane idea. Given the track record, we’re sadly guaranteed to see cluster bombs in Ukraine.

What Are Cluster Bombs?

Developed during World War II by both Germany and the Soviet Union, these bombs are shells that explode mid-air and release multiple bomblets that then explode on the ground. They’re designed specifically to rend human flesh as opposed to break through armour or walls (like missiles/rockets). They have a limited use capacity. Their limitations are furthered by the fact that anywhere between 10 and 40% of bomblets can go unexploded. Factors such as age, weather, and terrain can further decrease their effectiveness. Official claims state US cluster bombs only fail 3% of the time, but according to a Congressional report they fail up to 30% of the time.

But let’s not get caught up in the weeds here. US cluster bombs contain between 88 and 644 bomblets, so even with those conservative figures we can expect 2 or 19 unexploded bomblets – and this is where we have a problem.

After several thousands of these bombs are fired, we have tens of thousands of bomblets waiting around to either be dug up by farmers, happened upon randomly, or even mistaken for balls by playing children. The explosions aren’t generally enough to kill, but usually maim and permanently disfigure. I really want to show you the horror these things can inflict, but the images are a lot more graphic than the one to the left and I can’t risk exposing a child or vulnerable people to such things.

The final word is and should be, cluster bombs are more devastating to the innocent than to combatants and mustn’t be allowed in a civilised world.

Useless in Ukraine

Many veterans around the world have pointed out that cluster bombs are largely useless at this point in history and are only useful against advancing infantry (Ukraine are the advancing infantry for the most-part) and almost completely useless against entrenched and armoured troops. Modern vehicle armour is designed to deal with the blasts from these explosives. Their deployment in Ukraine can only be seen as a desparate measure to send ANYTHING to the front line, no matter the cost to the Ukrainian combatants themselves or the civilians who have to live there in the decades to come.