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Cluster bombs for Ukraine, why allies are turning against America. Russia talks about "a new world war"

2023-07-09 22:35:36Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Cluster bombs for Ukraine, why allies are turning against America. Russia talks
Cluster bombs contain a large number of miniprojectiles, i.e. small-caliber projectiles, which are ejected from the shell after such a bomb is activated. Smaller bombs often do not explode immediately after activation, so they may kill or injure people long after they are dropped.

Cluster bombs contain a large number of miniprojectiles, i.e. small-caliber projectiles, which are ejected from the shell after such a bomb is activated. Smaller bombs often do not explode immediately after activation, so they may kill or injure people long after they are dropped.

"A difficult decision". This is how US President Joe Biden considered the agreement on the new shipment of weapons to Ukraine, at the moment when Volodymyr Zelensky's forces seem to need them the most.

Although more than 100 countries have banned the US cluster bomb because of the danger to civilians and have expressed strong concern about the US decision to send them to Ukraine, Biden was convinced of the decision because according to him "Ukrainians are they run out of ammunition".

However, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Spain continue to oppose the use of these weapons.

This is because we are dealing with a class of weapons that contain small explosive bombs in bulk, which can kill indiscriminately and in a wide area. Also, the ammunition has caused controversy about its failure rate. Explosive bombs can remain in the ground for many years and then detonate, causing death and damage in no time.

How did the US decide to send specific weapons to Ukraine?

Biden said in an interview with CNN that he had spoken to allies about the decision, as part of an $800 million military aid package, but the decision was criticized by human rights groups.

Amnesty International said that cluster munitions pose a "serious threat to civilian life, even long after the conflict has ended".

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters that US cluster bombs sent to Ukraine fail much less often than those already used by Russia in the conflict.

But on Saturday, some Western US allies refused to support her decision.

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Rishi Sunak, when asked about this issue, commented that his country is one of 123 countries that have signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which prohibits the production or use of these weapons and discourages their use.

For his part, the prime minister of New Zealand, one of the countries that pushed for the creation of the convention, said that weapons "indiscriminately cause great harm to innocent people, potentially and can also have long-term effects. The White House was informed of New Zealand's opposition to the use of cluster bombs in Ukraine."

Not to cluster bombs, but to the legitimate defense of Ukraine

Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles told reporters that her country has a "strong commitment" that certain weapons and bombs cannot be sent to Ukraine.

"No to cluster bombs and yes to the legitimate defense of Ukraine, which, as we understand, should not be carried out with cluster bombs," she said.

The Canadian government has also said it is particularly concerned about the potential impact of the bombs - which sometimes lie dormant for years.

Canada has also stated that it opposes the use of cluster bombs and that it remains in full compliance with the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

"We take seriously our obligation under the convention to encourage its universal adoption," they said in a statement.

The US, Ukraine and Russia have not signed the convention, while Moscow and Kiev have used cluster bombs during the war.

Meanwhile, Germany, a signatory to the treaty, said that while it would not provide such weapons to Ukraine, it understood the American position.

"We are sure that it was not easy for our American friends to make the decision to send such munitions," German government spokesman Steffen Hebstreit told reporters in Berlin.

The UN human rights office has also been critical, with a spokesman saying "the use of such munitions must be stopped immediately".

Guarantees of Ukraine

Ukraine's Defense Minister has given assurances that cluster bombs will only be used to disrupt enemy defense lines and not in urban areas.

Biden's move would override US law that bans the production, use or transfer of cluster munitions with a failure rate of more than 1 percent.

Sullivan, the US national security adviser, told reporters that American cluster bombs have a failure rate of less than 2.5 percent, while Russian ones have a failure rate of between 30-40 percent.

Russia talks about "a new world war"

A representative of Russia's Ministry of Defense described the action as an "act of desperation and proof of impotence in the face of the failure of the much-discussed Ukrainian counter-offensive".

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also said Ukraine's assurances that it would use cluster munitions responsibly were worthless.

Even Russia's ambassador to the UN, Anatoly Antonov, criticized the delivery of cluster bombs planned by the US. "The cruelty and cynicism with which Washington is behaving in the matter of supplying Kiev with lethal weapons is extraordinary," Antonov told the Russian news agency TASS. Even without cluster bombs, the United States of America is deeply involved in the conflict and "is bringing humanity closer to a new world war," Antonov said.

In the end, according to a Sky News assessment, the deployment of this type of missile shows that things on the battlefield are not going well for Kiev.


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