Several US media reports that the US wants to supply Ukraine with cluster munitions. This should be announced on Friday. The Pentagon has not yet confirmed the reports. The guns are banned internationally, but not by the United States.
According to consistent media reports, the US is planning to supply cluster munitions to Ukraine, which is being attacked by Russia. The news agencies AP and Reuters, the US radio station NPR, the news station CNN and the “New York Times” want to have heard of a corresponding decision from US government circles. The official announcement of the plans is expected on Friday.
The AP news agency writes that the Pentagon will provide thousands of ammunition sets. This should happen as part of a new military aid package worth around US$800 million. According to the information, the Pentagon wants to deliver cluster munitions with a lower dud rate. This should help reduce the number of civilian casualties.
The Pentagon declined to confirm the media reports. “I don’t have anything specific to announce today,” Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said.
Ukraine has long been demanding delivery
“I would like to point out that the Russians have already used cluster munitions on the battlefield,” Ryder added. The USA had cluster munitions in their stocks. Ryder pointed out that older ammunition had a higher rate of duds. “We would carefully select bullets with a lower dud rate for which we have current test data,” Ryder said.
Ukraine has long pursued cluster munitions – missiles or bombs that detonate in mid-air and release large numbers of explosive devices in order to hit multiple targets at once.
When asked by a reporter about a possible delivery of cluster bombs to Ukraine, a White House spokesman said US Chief of Staff Mark Milley had already made it clear that this was being “actively” examined. “I have no announcement to make at this time.” The US is focused on providing Ukraine with a “wide range of munitions” to help the country defend itself against Russia.
carry USA ban agreement not with
The human rights organization Amnesty International spoke out against a delivery. Cluster munitions “pose a major threat to civilian life, even long after a conflict has ended,” it said. Delivery and deployment – by any country – are in any case incompatible with international law.
Cluster munitions are criticized because a significant percentage of their explosive devices do not detonate but remain on site as duds, thus endangering the population. Germany signed a treaty banning cluster munitions, but the United States did not.
The United States is considered Ukraine’s main ally in defending against the Russian invasion. According to the Pentagon, the United States has provided or pledged more than $40 billion in military aid to Kiev since the war began in late February 2022.