2023-05-17 19:14:00
A mushroom cloud over Ukraine caused horror among many observers. Did nuclear material explode? A search brings light into the darkness.
Munich – A huge mushroom-shaped cloud of fire slowly but menacingly rises into the air. It stands towering in the sky like a gigantic, glowing memorial, before slowly spreading out and disintegrating. When you see this, many people only think of one thing: Hiroshima. Nagasaki. A nuclear bomb.
Mushroom clouds over Ukraine raise fears of the worst
A viral video from the Ukraine probably triggered precisely this terrifying vision for many observers. Suspected footage of a massive explosion in the western Ukrainian city of Khmelnytskyi raised fears of the worst and quickly spread across the internet. But was it a real bomb? No – claims are quickly circulating that a “depleted uranium” dump was hit and as a result radiation levels in Ukraine have risen. How true is this theory? The International Atomic Energy Agency dismissed this as a hoax. But after many worries about Europe’s largest nuclear power plant Zaporizhia and the Russian nuclear saber-rattling since the beginning of the war, not every doubter is immediately convinced.
“According to information, the value of the ammunition destroyed at the Khmelnytsky ammunition depot is about $500 million,” read a Twitter post that was viewed nearly 7 million times.
Ammunition store probably contained flight ammunition from 1949
The US Portal Newsweek got to the bottom of the allegations with his fact-finding team. The claim on the Internet is therefore usually this: The weapons depot that was hit by the Russians contained uranium-depleted ammunition that Great Britain had supplied to Ukraine. Scientific-looking diagrams quickly confirmed the fears, and reports in the Russian media and right-wing accounts in the US also pointed in this direction.
The source of the charts was mostly the “SaveEcoBot” account. According to Newsweek, however, these theories have been proven to be false or misleading.
According to an investigation by GeoConfirmeda Twitter account that uses visual content from the Russia-Ukraine War geolocated, there is little evidence to suggest that the attack was at a facility storing “depleted uranium shells.” But what was deposited in the camp? The tweeters cited pre-war media reports and public records suggesting it was a Soviet-era ammunition depot that reportedly could have contained up to 30,000 tons of ammunition. Some of the articles suggest that the aircraft munitions stored at the facility date from 1949.
Newsweek questioned previous reports of the existence of uranium munitions. In addition, be of of Russia Ruler Vladimir Putin’s comparison to real nuclear weapons is “largely unfounded”. The explanation: Depleted uranium, undoubtedly controversial as ammunition, is a by-product of the process of producing enriched uranium, which is used in nuclear fuel and weapons. It is far weaker than enriched uranium and cannot trigger a nuclear reaction.
Increased radioactivity in Ukraine? Values probably harmless
With depleted uranium, “radioactivity is something of a red herring, as the real danger seems to be its toxicity as a heavy metal,” said David Hambling, an expert on military technology. For the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), depleted uranium is primarily a toxic chemical and does not pose a radiation hazard.
And the increased radioactivity measured? The research revealed irregularities in the chronological sequence of events, for example data measured 48 hours before the explosion. With a peak of 155 nanosieverts per hour, the values are also quite low and comparable to values in Germany. For comparison: 500 nSv were measured in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone last week. Enerhoatom, Ukraine’s national nuclear power company, also spoke of normal values.
Therefore, an explosion of uranium munitions is highly unlikely – just as there is no increased radiation in Ukraine. Luckily, a mushroom cloud does not make a nuclear war. (cgsc)
There are few certainties in the Ukraine war. Ukraine now has them Number of Russian fighters in the country published – but that is not verifiable either. Meanwhile, a Moscow court has sentenced a Colombian to “discrediting the Russian armed forces.” five years and two months imprisonment sentenced.
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