The Russians are using cluster munitions, even though most of the world bans them as a war crime. So the United States is giving Ukraine cluster munitions in response.
The Biden administration has approved giving cluster munitions to Ukraine over the objections of human rights activists who have fought for a ban on them, saying they kill civilians, especially children.
The Biden administration claims American-made cluster bombs are safer than the ones Russia is already using in the conflict. The transport of cluster munitions comes as Ukraine ramps up a counteroffensive against Russian troops. “We recognise that cluster munitions create a risk of civilian harm from unexploded ordnance,” says Biden administration official Jake Sullivan.
“This is why we’ve deferred the decision for as long as we could. But there is also a massive risk of civilian harm if Russian troops and tanks roll over Ukrainian positions and take more Ukrainian territory and subjugate more Ukrainian civilians.”
Sullivan added that cluster munitions would serve as a “bridge” to complement conventional artillery as America continues providing regular bombs and shells for Ukraine — a process that has left U.S. stockpiles depleted. “It’s a difficult decision,” he said.
America is also giving Ukraine things like armored cars and anti-armor weapons.
Human rights activists criticized the Biden administration’s decision, saying it may harm Ukrainian civilians in the future.
Sarah Yager, the Washington director at Human Rights Watch, called the US move “devastating”.
“They are absolutely awful for civilians. I think when legislators and policymakers here in the United States see the photos coming back of children with missing limbs, parents injured, killed by our own American cluster munitions, there’s going to be a real awakening to the humanitarian disaster that this is.”
Each cluster bomb is comprised of hundreds of smaller explosives that spew across a targeted area, but not all of these bomblets detonate on impact. The unexploded bombs, known as duds, can remain embedded in the ground for years, killing civilians who stumble across them, especially children.
While cluster munitions are not banned everywhere on Earth, more than 120 countries – including most nations in NATO – are parties to an international convention prohibiting their use. By contrast, America, Ukraine and Russia are not.
On July 7, Farhan Haq, a UN spokesman, emphasized the UN Secretary-General’s backing of the Convention on Cluster Munitions: “He wants countries to abide by the terms of that convention, and so as a result, of course, he does not want there to be continued use of cluster munitions on the battlefield.”
Germany, the third largest NATO member, has opposed the idea of sending cluster munitions to Ukraine.
But NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg suggested that the alliance does not take a position on the issue, leaving it to the individual NATO members to decide. “Cluster munition is already in use in the war on both sides. The difference is that Russia uses the cluster munitions in a war of aggression to occupy, to control, to invade Ukraine while Ukraine is using it to defend itself against aggression,” he says.
Human Rights Watch’s Yager rejects the idea that Russia’s use of the weapons justifies further deployment of cluster munitions by Ukraine, saying, “The fact that Russia is using them is just another reason why they should not be used.”
Despite America providing vast amounts of military support, Ukraine has been making only mild gains in a long-anticipated counteroffensive launched last month.
Last year, US envoy to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield condemned Russia for using “exceptionally lethal” weapons in Ukraine, including cluster munitions.
On July 7, Sullivan said Ukraine has given America “written assurances” that it would use the cluster munitions in a careful way to guard against civilian fatalities.
Patrick Fruchet, an expert on landmine clearance, said explosive remnants of war – bombs that “fail to go bang” when launched – are a longstanding source of mortality in conflict zones. Fruchet cited their failure rate and their “twitchy” qualities, which makes the unexploded devices prone to detonation when handled. He says, “You see a lot of children coming upon novel-looking devices and being attracted to them because they’re unusual, … and there’s a tendency to pick them up.”
