Russia Accuses UK Of 'Genocide' For Plans To Supply Ukraine With Depleted Uranium Tank Shells

Russian president Vladimir Putin and other officials are outraged over Britain's plans to potentially arm Ukraine with tank shells containing depleted uranium as the war rages on, RadarOnline.com has learned.

"If all this happens, [Russia] will have to respond accordingly, given that the West collectively is already beginning to use weapons with a nuclear component," Putin said following a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Depleted uranium is used for tank armor and thick armor-piercing bullets and can help to balance aircrafts, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which noted it is both a toxic chemical and radiation health hazard.

There are lingering fears from Russia that the UK's aid in the form of shells and Challenger 2 battle tanks to Kyiv could lead to even more deaths and illnesses after Putin's military operation against Ukraine passed its one-year mark.

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"The use of ammunition with depleted uranium is a manifestation of genocide of the population against which it is used and the people who use them," Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. "And the people who use them."

"That is, everyone who lives in this territory, or is there temporarily or otherwise, receives a respective dose of radiation. Physicists and chemists will explain it step-by-step," she warned. "They receive it, and it's not a one-time problem … they will live with this forever."

Maria Zakharova claimed this is yet another instance of "British provocation, which aims to bring the situation around Ukraine to a new round of aggression, conflict and confrontation, to give a qualitatively different dimension."

On the other hand, Britain's UK Ministry of Defence fired back, accusing Russia of "deliberately trying to disinform" over a "standard component and has nothing to do with nuclear weapons or capabilities."

The division comes shortly after news broke last week that a warrant has been issued for Putin's arrest amid accusations of war crimes.

The International Criminal Court claimed the Russian commander-in-chief was suspected of being involved in the "unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation."

In response, the Kremlin shut down the claims as "outrageous and unacceptable."