Ukraine started using cluster bombs against Russian soldiers
Ukrainian troops have begun using cluster munitions as part of a counter-offensive against Russia, hotnews.ro reports. White House national security spokesman John Kirby said yesterday that US-supplied cluster munitions are in Ukrainian hands. At the same time, the United States is still waiting for an update from the Ukrainian military on how effective this - controversial - cluster munition is on the battlefield, according to one US official.
The Washington Post (WP) has revealed that Ukraine is using cluster munitions in combat. This type of weaponry is controversial because it scatters numerous small "bombs" over a wide area and thus poses a long-term threat to civilians if it does not explode. At the same time, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shigu said that the Russian military would have to resort to "similar" methods of attack, assuring that it had sufficient stockpiles of such munitions, hotnews.ro reports.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Sunday that Moscow has stocks of submunitions weapons and is considering whether to use them against Ukraine, Digi24.ro reports. But both Russia and Ukraine are accused of using such weapons in warfare, including in densely populated areas. The UN announced in March that it had compiled credible information that Russian forces had used cluster munitions in populated areas at least 24 times.
CNN revealed last year, following a journalistic investigation, that the Kremlin fired 11 cluster munitions missiles at Kharkov, Ukraine's second-largest city, in the early days of the Russian invasion. Ukraine has also used cluster munitions, including in populated areas, accuses Cluster Munition Monitor, a civil society association and UN partner.
The Ukrainian military wants to target the largest concentrations of Russian troops and military equipment with these weapons. The United States and the European Union are finding it difficult to supply Ukraine with the large quantities of ammunition it needs for the protracted counter-offensive, and the West is working to increase ammunition production. It is unclear whether the heavy artillery ammunition the Ukrainians use on a daily basis would be sufficient in the long term without cluster munitions, according to military analysts.
Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavski told CNN last week that this type of ammunition "can radically change" the battlefield. "The enemy also understands that by getting this ammunition we will have an advantage," he said.
US President Joe Biden announced two weeks ago that he had approved the supply of cluster munitions to Ukraine, citing a shortage of shells in the Ukrainian army.
