WASHINGTON — The British government's announcement that it would give Ukraine a particular type of munition that Moscow falsely claims contains nuclear components prompted Russia to threaten to step up its attacks in Ukraine.

On Monday, the British defense ministry announced that it would send depleted uranium-tipped armor-piercing rounds to Ukraine.

Such rounds were developed by the US during the Cold War to destroy Soviet tanks, including the same T-72 tanks that Ukraine is currently up against in its attempt to break out of a standoff in the east.

The uranium enrichment procedure required to make nuclear weapons produces depleted uranium as a byproduct. According to nuclear expert and policy researcher Edward Geist of the RAND Corporation, the rounds still have some radioactive characteristics but are unable to produce a nuclear reaction like a nuclear weapon.

The Russians nonetheless issued a stern warning that the rounds were creating the potential for further escalation. They have previously suggested that the war might progress to the use of nuclear weapons.

The White House and the British ministry both rejected the Russian accusations. Even though the ammunition is not a nuclear weapon, there are risks associated with it.

As a byproduct of the process used to produce the rarer, enriched uranium used in nuclear fuel and weapons, depleted uranium is produced. It is extremely desirable as a projectile despite being significantly less potent than enriched uranium and unable to cause a nuclear reaction. Depleted uranium ammunition was first produced by the American Army in the 1970s, and it was later added by the Air Force to the A-10 close air support attack plane's arsenal of weapons. Depleted uranium ammunition, such as the M829A4 for the M1A2 Abrams main battle tank, is still being developed by the military.

In response to the use of nuclear weapons by the West, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a warning that Moscow would "respond accordingly" The munitions are "a step toward accelerating escalation." Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov warned. The announcement, according to Sergei Shoigu, minister of defence, was "another step, and there aren't so many of them left." The claims made by Russia were criticized by the White House as false. A White House official claims that Russia has depleted uranium weapons as well and simply does not want Ukraine to possess them. Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon's press secretary, stated on Monday that, to his knowledge, the United States was not supplying Ukraine with depleted uranium weapons from its own stockpile.

Although depleted uranium munitions are not nuclear weapons, the U.N. nuclear watchdog has warned of the potential risks of exposure and urged caution when handling them due to their low radiation emissions.

Depleted uranium, according to the IAEA, is primarily a toxic chemical rather than a radiation risk. Aerosols contain small, breathable or ingestible particles, some of which can harm the kidneys by entering the bloodstream. High levels in the kidney can harm the organ and, in severe cases, result in renal failure. A depleted uranium round's low radioactivity is "a bug, not a feature" of the munition, and the U.S. military would probably use something else with the same density but no radioactivity instead if it could.

Depleted uranium ammunition was used against Iraq's T-72 tanks in the 1991 Gulf War and again during the 2003 invasion of the nation, as well as in Serbia and Kosovo. Americans who served in those conflicts have questioned whether their use contributed to the ailments they currently experience. The lower house speaker of the Russian parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin, issued a dire warning about the dangers of depleted uranium supplies. According to him, the former Yugoslavia and Iraq experienced "radioactive contamination and a sharp rise in oncological diseases." as a result of the use of such ammunition.