Kremlin chief
Putin threatens to use cluster bombs in Ukraine
Vladimir Putin has threatened to use cluster bombs in the war against Ukraine. photo
© Aleksey Babushkin/Pool Sputnik Kremlin/AP/dpa
The use of cluster munitions is now being discussed in the war against Ukraine. But what is it really?
Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin has threatened to use cluster bombs if the Ukraine should use this US-supplied ammunition. “I would like to say that Russia has sufficient reserves of various types of cluster munitions,” Putin told Russian state television in a clip.
According to Putin, Russia does not want to use the internationally banned ammunition. “But of course, if it is used against us, then we reserve the right to concurrent actions.” Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had previously made a similar statement.
Has Russia already used cluster bombs?
Human rights activists accuse the Russian and Ukrainian armed forces of having used cluster bombs in the past in the war.
On the other hand, Putin states that Russia has not yet used them, although for a while there was “a well-known lack of ammunition” on the Russian side too.
The Russian President accused the United States of providing the controversial cluster munitions because the West was no longer able to supply Ukraine with sufficient conventional means. “They have found nothing better than proposing the use of cluster munitions,” Putin said.
With the cluster munitions that have arrived, the Ukraine hopes to be able to accelerate its major offensive to recapture its own areas in the east and south.
What are cluster bombs?
The bombs exploding above the ground spread projectiles over larger areas. Because many of them often do not explode immediately, like mines they are considered a danger to civilians even after the end of hostilities. Germany and 110 other countries have therefore outlawed them with an international agreement. Neither the United States, Ukraine, nor Russia have signed the treaty banning cluster munitions. Russia has been waging a war of aggression against Ukraine since February last year.
Kremlin chief Putin on Russian state television