Main points
- The Ukrainian Air Force denied rumors about “radioactive weapons” of Russian troops.
- According to Ignat, the cause of the radiation is elements of an old Soviet R-60 aircraft missile, which has a core made of depleted uranium.
Ignat commented on the report about “radioactive” drones / Photo: Getty Images
The uranium drones that have recently been reported online are not “radioactive” in the usual sense. They are actually components made from depleted uranium, which is inactive.
This was stated by Yuriy Ignat, head of the communications department of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in a comment to Novini.LIVE.
Does the enemy really have radioactive drones?
The other day, the SBU reported that an increased radiation background was detected on the wreckage of a missile that Russian troops armed with a modified Geran-2 attack drone during the attack on the Chernihiv region.
These are fragments of a Russian air-to-air missile, found near the village of Kamka.
The level of gamma radiation recorded by SBU specialists was 12 μSv/h, while the normal natural background is 0.1-0.2 μSv/h.
Yuriy Ignat explained that the cause of the radiation is elements of the old Soviet R-60 aviation missile, which has a core made of depleted – that is, inactive – uranium.
This is an alloy, this uranium is inactive there. It seems that people have already written everything on social networks, explaining that this is just a standard alloy that is used in this old Soviet rocket,
– added the head of the Air Force Communications Department.
The “radioactive” find was also commented on in Defence Express. Analysts explained that this material was chosen because of its high density, as it allows for the creation of compact but heavy elements, which is especially important for a missile with a warhead weighing only 3-3.5 kilograms.
In addition, depleted uranium has pyrophoric properties – that is, it can spontaneously ignite at temperatures above 300 degrees. This further increases the effectiveness of the missile when hitting air targets.
Interestingly, a similar approach using depleted uranium was used in the R-73 short-range air-to-air missile. Open sources mention that its 7.3-kilogram warhead used core elements made of this metal.
Kamikaze drone attacks: latest news
On the morning of Thursday, May 21, explosions rang out in Dnipro. An apartment on the 5th floor of a five-story building was damaged in the enemy attack in the city. The blast wave also damaged several neighboring houses, blowing out windows.
As of 07:30, two victims were reported – a 58-year-old and a 35-year-old woman, they will be treated on an outpatient basis.
In addition to the regional center, Kryvyi Rih was also under attack. An enterprise there was damaged and a 34-year-old man was injured as a result of the attack.
On the same day, an explosion thundered in Mykolaiv. At that time, monitoring channels reported the movement of drones towards the city from the south. As of the time of publication, local authorities had not reported on the consequences of the attack and possible hits.