The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said it has detected harmful levels of radiation from unexploded, Russian air-to-air missiles fired at northern Ukraine, according to a new report by The Telegraph.

SBU reportedly discovered an unexploded R-60 air-to-air missile armed with a depleted uranium warhead after an attack on Kamka, a village in Ukraine’s Chernihiv Oblast region, in April.

Per The Kyiv Independent, the missile was attached to a modified Geran-2 drone, a mass-produced and Iranian-designed kamikaze drone frequently used by Russian forces in Ukraine.

That unexploded R-60 reportedly emanated harmful levels of radiation, namely from Uranium-235 and Uranium-238. Investigators say they detected a gamma radiation level of 12 microsieverts per hour, which can be particularly detrimental to human health after long-term or cumulative exposure.

While depleted uranium, a by-product of the uranium enrichment process, is normally less radioactive than natural uranium, it is extremely dense and can pierce through heavy armor, including tank armor.

When depleted uranium strikes a tank, for example, it pierces it and then erupts into a “burning cloud” of vapor, according to The Telegraph.

“Given the toxicity and radioactivity of depleted uranium, we urge citizens to be especially careful if they encounter fragments of UAVs, missiles or other munitions,” the SBU said, according to The Telegraph’s report, which added that burnt munitions post the greatest harm due to the release of radioactive dust.

SBU has allegedly opened a pre-trial criminal investigation for war crimes against Ukraine, and The Kyiv Independent reports that SBU and units of the State Emergency Service and Ukrainian Armed Forces securely transported the warhead to a radioactive waste storage facility.

This information comes amid recent reports Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to transport and store Iranian enriched uranium in Russia.

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump announced a three-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine beginning on May 9. By the next day, both countries accused each other of violating the ceasefire.

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