Beyond Nuclear International Weekly Digest

Posted: 18th April 2023

The UK government has decided to ship depleted uranium weapons to Ukraine, weapons that would contaminate the battle environment and poison troops and civilians. New American B61-12 nuclear bombs are headed to Europe, sending exactly the wrong message in a time of already heightened nuclear tensions, say ICAN and other observers.

A deadly DU decision

Evidence on the ground from both the Gulf and Balkan Wars suggests that the use of depleted uranium weapons there has left a horrific health legacy among both troops and civilians. That should be enough to ban them, even as we search for more answers about their capacity to harm, write Linda Pentz Gunter and Maria Sotiropoulou. The UK should be condemned worldwide for sending DU weapons into the battlefield in Ukraine. READ MORE

New bigger US nukes: why now?

American B61-12 nuclear bombs are coming to Europe at a time of extreme anxiety about the potential for a nuclear war arising from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The bombs can detonate beneath the Earth’s surface, increasing their destructive power to the equivalent of 83 Hiroshima bombs, writes ICAN. Host countries should reject US nuclear weapons and join the TPNW, says Spanish peace activist, Tica Font. READ MORE

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