MOSCOW, Jan 23, 2001 -- (Agence France Presse) Russia has detected its first case of cancer in a Balkans peacekeeping veteran, a health problem which could be linked to the United States' use of depleted uranium (DU) arms, ORT public television said Monday.

The soldier from the northeastern town of Yaroslavl developed a blood cancer similar to leukemia after serving in Kosovo and will have to undergo a course of chemotherapy, ORT said.

Russia has so far denied that any of its troops who served in the NATO-led Kosovo Force had contracted cancer possibly linked to the U.S. army's use of tens of thousands of armor-piercing DU bullets in its raids on the Balkans.

NATO has set up a committee to look into the so-called Balkan syndrome after several countries which provided peacekeeping troops in the region reported rashes of cancer cases among mission veterans. ((c) 2001 Agence France Presse)