Local residents walk an empty street in the frontline city of Bakhmut, Ukraine on Feb 21, 2023. (Photo: Agencies)

The United Kingdom has announced it will provide depleted uranium armor-piercing rounds to Ukraine for its main battle tanks, a move that will cause more harm than good to the country in the midst of a military conflict.

Arming Ukraine with the shells further escalates the military conflict, with each such step pushing the country further away from peace.

Depleted uranium is a heavy metal that is highly toxic and radioactive. If used in battle, the residue from the shells will continue contaminating the soil, posing a health hazard to residents.

It could enter the bodies of residents and remain there for decades. In fact, three decades after the Gulf War, those who served in the war are still reporting complications from uranium in their bodies, something that should not be repeated in Ukraine.

Of course, the UK cares little about the ramifications of arming Ukraine, for it is not UK soil that will be contaminated. Neither will it be UK farmers who will have to plough radioactive land.

The British can continue enjoying their afternoon tea in London after having added fuel to the fire in Ukraine, and having helped their arms dealers at the cost of Ukrainian people's health and lives. To quote a US media report at the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict a year ago, the US will fight Russia until the last Ukrainian.

True hope for Ukraine lies not in the depleted uranium rounds the UK will provide, but on the negotiation table. What Ukraine needs is an end to the bloodshed, people returning to their posts, farmers ploughing land and workers manufacturing truck parts.

It is time the West took a lesson from China, which facilitated a deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to reestablish diplomatic ties. Similarly, the two Slavic brothers, Ukraine and Russia, too, need peace.