Several allies of the United States have expressed concerns at Washington’s decision to supply Ukraine with cluster bombs that have been banned by more than 100 countries due to their devastating impact on civilians.
The cluster munitions are included for the first time in the new $800 million military package the U.S. will send to Ukraine. The package also includes additional munitions for Patriot air defense systems, AIM-7 missiles for air defense, Stinger anti-aircraft systems and additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS). During the Biden era, the U.S. has committed more than $42 billion in security assistance to Ukraine, including more than $41.3 billion since Russia launched the invasion in February 2022, according to the Department of Defense.
Concerns over cluster bombs
However, some Western allies have voiced conversion over the U.S. decision to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions, which contain multiple explosive submunitions. The UK, Canada, New Zealand and Spain said they were opposed to the use of the weapons. Another U.S. ally, Germany, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also expressed opposition.
Spain — “Spain, based on the firm commitment it has with Ukraine, also has a firm commitment that certain weapons and bombs cannot be delivered under any circumstances,” Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles says. “No to cluster bombs and yes to the legitimate defense of Ukraine” she said.
UK — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said that the UK is a “signatory to a convention which prohibits the production or use of cluster munitions and discourages their use”. He added that his country will continue to support Ukraine against Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion and said “We have done that by providing heavy battle tanks and most recently long-range weapons”. Sunak is scheduled to meet with Prudent Biden in London on July 10, ahead of the annual NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.
Canada — The Canadian government says, “We do not support the use of cluster munitions and are committed to putting an end to the effects cluster munitions have on civilians — particularly children.”
Germany —German defense minister Boris Pistorius said that providing cluster munitions to Ukraine is “not an option” for Berlin because it is a signatory to the convention. However, he declined to comment on the U.S. decision, saying that: “Those countries that have not signed the convention – China, Russia, Ukraine and the U.S. – it is not up to me to comment on their actions.”
Human Rights Watch said that “transferring these weapons would inevitably cause long-term suffering for civilians and undermine the international opprobrium of their use.”
Biden defends ‘difficult decision’ to send munitions
President Joe Biden said that it was a “difficult decision” to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions but that he was ultimately convinced that Kyiv needs ammunition in its counteroffensive against Russia. “It was a very difficult decision on my part. And by the way, I discussed this with our allies, I discussed this with our friends up on the Hill,” Biden said, adding, “The Ukrainians are running out of ammunition” he said in an interview with CNN.
President Biden on sending cluster munitions to Ukraine: “It was a very difficult decision on my part. And by the way, I discussed this with our allies, I discussed this with our friends up on the Hill.” https://t.co/LbezY3sD3m pic.twitter.com/pzqoSGLn6w
— The Hill (@thehill) July 8, 2023
U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan also acknowledged the difficult nature of the decision, saying it required a thorough examination of the potential harm to civilians. “It’s a difficult decision. It’s a decision we deferred. It’s a decision that required a real hard look at the potential harm to civilians. And when we put all of that together, there was a unanimous recommendation from the national security team, and President Biden ultimately decided, in consultation with allies and partners and in consultation with members of Congress, to move forward on this strategy” Sullivan told reporters.
Ukraine’s response
Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov has vowed that they would not use the weapons in Russia, but to help de-occupy Ukrainian territory.
“Our position is simple — we need to liberate our temporarily occupied territories and save the lives of our people,” Ukraine’s Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov writes on Twitter. “Ukraine will use these munitions only for the de-occupation of our internationally recognized territories. These munitions will not be used on the officially recognized territory of Russia.”
Dr. Colin Kahl, the U.S. under secretary of defense for policy, said that Ukraine gave “assurances in writing” that it would not use the cluster munitions in urban areas “that are populated by civilians, and that there would be a careful accounting of where they use these weapons.”
Why cluster bombs are controversial?
Cluster munitions are prohibited by more than 120 countries. These bombs release large numbers of smaller bomblets that can kill indiscriminately over a large area, intended to wreak destruction on multiple targets at once.
Cluster bombs pose a long-term risk to civilians who may encounter them later. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, some cluster munitions leave behind bomblets that have a high rate of failure to explode, up to 40% in some cases.
The US has decided to supply Ukraine with thousands of cluster bombs.
— DW News (@dwnews) July 8, 2023
Why are these deadly weapons considered so controversial? pic.twitter.com/GnWa8XMwbl
Convention on Cluster Munitions
A convention banning the use of cluster bombs has been joined by more than 123 countries. These states have agreed not to use, produce, transfer or stockpile the weapons and to clear them after they have been used.
Over 100 countries, including the UK, France, Germany, and Australia, have banned the munitions under the Convention on Cluster Munitions, but the United States, Russia, and Ukraine are not signatories to the ban. Ryan Brobst, a research analyst for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, says the U.S. weapons will probably go to Ukraine through those countries en route such as Poland and Romania that have not signed on to the cluster munitions ban.
Lawmakers split on Biden’s decision to send controversial weapons
Democrats and Republicans were split on the move with some of Biden’s own Democratic allies saying they could not fully back the decision. The weapons “disperse hundreds of bomblets, which can travel far beyond military targets and injure, maim and kill civilians — often long after a conflict is over,” said Representative Jim McGovern, Democrat of Massachusetts. “Cluster bombs should never be used. That’s crossing a line,” said California Rep. Barbara Lee.
However, top Republicans on the Senate and House foreign affairs and armed services committees, including Representatives Michael McCaul of Texas and Mike Rogers of Alabama and Senators James Risch of Idaho and Roger Wicker of Mississippi, backed the decision. They said that the munitions “could help fill a key gap for Ukraine’s military, and, in concert with other provided capabilities, continue to push Putin’s forces out of Ukraine.”
