USA Reportedly to Provide Cluster Munitions to Ukraine

Several US media outlets are reporting that the USA intends to supply cluster munitions to Ukraine. The announcement is expected to be made today. The Pentagon has not yet confirmed the reports. Cluster munitions are internationally condemned, but not by the USA.

According to consistent media reports, the USA plans to provide cluster munitions to Ukraine, which has been attacked by Russia. News agencies such as AP and Reuters, the US radio station NPR, the news channel CNN, and the New York Times claim to have learned about the decision from sources within the US government. The official announcement of the plans is expected to be made on Friday.

The Associated Press reports that the Pentagon will provide thousands of sets of ammunition as part of a new military aid package amounting to approximately $800 million. According to the reports, the Pentagon intends to deliver cluster munitions with a lower dud rate to help reduce the number of civilian casualties.

The Pentagon did not confirm the media reports. “I have nothing specific to announce today,” said Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder on Thursday. Ukraine has long been requesting the delivery

“I would like to note that the Russians have already used cluster munitions on the battlefield,” Ryder added. The USA has cluster munitions in its arsenal. Ryder emphasized that older munitions have a higher dud rate. “We would carefully select projectiles with a lower dud rate for which we have current test data,” said Ryder.

Ukraine has been striving for cluster munitions for a long time – that is, rockets or bombs that are detonated in the air, releasing a large number of submunitions to simultaneously target multiple objectives.

In response to a reporter’s question about a possible delivery of cluster bombs to Ukraine, a White House spokesperson stated that US Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley has already made it clear that this is being actively considered. “I don’t have an announcement to make at this time.” The US is focused on providing Ukraine with a “wide range of ammunition” to defend itself against Russia. USA not signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions

Amnesty International, a human rights organization, expressed opposition to the delivery. Cluster munitions pose “a significant threat to civilian life, even long after the end of a conflict,” they stated. Delivery and use – by any country – are incompatible with international law under all circumstances.

Cluster munitions are criticized because a significant percentage of their submunitions do not detonate but remain as duds, endangering the local population. While Germany has signed a convention banning cluster munitions, the USA has not.

The United States is considered Ukraine’s key ally in its defense against the Russian invasion. According to the Pentagon, since the start of the war in late February 2022, the USA has provided or pledged military assistance totaling more than $40 billion to Kyiv.