US President Joe Biden has approved the supply of cluster munitions to Ukraine as part of the Pentagon’s 42nd arms package for Kiev’s forces. The White House said that Biden made the decision despite the risk of harm to civilians.
Biden approved the transfer based on “unanimous” advice from his national security team, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Friday.
US officials “recognize that cluster munitions create a risk of civilian harm from unexploded ordnance. This is why we deferred the decision for as long as we could,”Sullivan said, before arguing that the supply of cluster munitions is not “that much of an addition of civilian harm,” as Russia has allegedly used these weapons in Ukraine already.
Cluster munitions are banned in more than 120 countries because when they detonate, they release many small ‘bomblets’ over a wide area, with these unexploded elements posing severe risks to civilians for years after fighting ends.
The US, Ukraine, and Russia, are not parties to the ban. However, the US has prohibited exports of this ammo with a ‘dud’ rate of more than 1%, but this restriction can be lifted by presidential waiver.
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