The Security Service of Ukraine reported detecting harmful radiation from unexploded Russian air-to-air missiles fired at northern Ukraine. Investigators found an unexploded R-60 air-to-air missile with a depleted uranium warhead after an April attack on Kamka in Chernihiv Oblast. The missile was reportedly attached to a modified Geran-2 kamikaze drone. Radiation was attributed to Uranium-235 and Uranium-238, with a measured gamma level of 12 microsieverts per hour. Depleted uranium is less radioactive than natural uranium but is extremely dense and can penetrate heavy armor, and it can release radioactive dust when munitions burn. SBU opened a pre-trial war crimes investigation and coordinated secure transport of the warhead to a radioactive waste storage facility.
"The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said it has detected harmful levels of radiation from unexploded, Russian air-to-air missiles fired at northern Ukraine, according to a new report by The Telegraph. SBU reportedly discovered an unexploded R-60 air-to-air missile armed with a depleted uranium warhead after an attack on Kamka, a village in Ukraine's Chernihiv Oblast region, in April."
"That unexploded R-60 reportedly emanated harmful levels of radiation, namely from Uranium-235 and Uranium-238. Investigators say they detected a gamma radiation level of 12 microsieverts per hour, which can be particularly detrimental to human health after long-term or cumulative exposure."
"While depleted uranium, a by-product of the uranium enrichment process, is normally less radioactive than natural uranium, it is extremely dense and can pierce through heavy armor, including tank armor. When depleted uranium strikes a tank, for example, it pierces it and then erupts into a burning cloud of vapor, according to The Telegraph."
"Given the toxicity and radioactivity of depleted uranium, we urge citizens to be especially careful if they encounter fragments of UAVs, missiles or other munitions, the SBU said, according to The Telegraph's report, which added that burnt munitions post the greatest harm due to the release of radioactive dust. SBU has allegedly opened a pre-trial criminal investigation for war crimes against Ukraine, and The Kyiv Independent reports that SBU and units of the State Emergency Service and Ukrainian Armed Forces securely transported the warhead to a radioactive waste storage facility."
#depleted-uranium #radiation-detection #unexploded-ordnance #war-crimes-investigation #uav-and-missile-attacks
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