[69116] Ukrainian Security Agency reveals: Russia is using radioactive air-to-air missiles on drones
[69116] Ukrainian Security Agency reveals: Russia is using radioactive air-to-air missiles on drones
The Ukrainian Security Service has located radioactive components containing depleted uranium in the remains of a Russian missile mounted on an attack drone in the Chernihiv region.
Russia is using depleted uranium components in weapons directed at Ukraine
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported on May 20, 2026, on an alarming finding in the remains of a Russian "Gran-2" drone that bombed the Chernihiv district last April. According to the SBU announcement, components containing "Uranium-235 and Uranium-238" were found in the remains of an R-60 missile integrated into the drone.
In the area where the remains were found near the settlement of Kamka, a gamma radiation level of 12 microsieverts per hour (μSv/h) was measured, a figure reported by multiple entities including STERNENKO and Україна Online. This level is significantly higher than the natural radioactive background and poses a health risk to the public. The SBU noted that this is an air-to-air missile that Russia converted for use against ground targets.
Experts at Мацальця Коновальця clarified that the use of depleted uranium in the warheads of Soviet missiles such as the R-60 or R-73 is not a new phenomenon, as it is a material used to create more effective penetrating components. However, authorities in Ukraine emphasize that contact with these remains is dangerous and urge citizens not to approach them.
Simultaneously with these reports, Українська правда and Око Саурона updated that Russia is continuing an intense wave of attacks against the energy infrastructure of the "Naftogaz" company in the Chernihiv district, attacks that have continued for four consecutive days. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as reported in Батальйон «Монако», addressed the growing threats from the northern direction and stated that the country is preparing for a number of possible scenarios of escalation in the border area with Belarus and Russia.