Considering employing cluster munitions against Ukraine “if they are used against us,” Russian President Vladimir Putin stated, his country has a stockpile of them.
Putin made his remarks just days after American-manufactured cluster munitions were sent to Ukraine, though a senior Ukrainian military official told CNN that they had not yet been deployed.
The Russian leader claimed in an interview with a pro-Kremlin journalist that “Russia has a sufficient supply of various types of cluster munitions.”
“If they are used against us, we reserve the right to mirror actions.”
Washington’s decision to send cluster bombs to Kyiv was controversial and criticized by human rights groups.
The weapons are particularly dangerous to civilians and noncombattants when fired near populated areas because they scatter explosive material, so-called “bomblets,” across large areas. Those that fail to explode on impact can detonate years later, posing a long-term risk to anyone who encounters them, similar to landmines.
What are cluster munitions?
Cluster munitions contain multiple explosives that are released over an area up to the size of several football fields. They can be dropped from a plane or launched from the ground or sea.
The submunitions are released in flight and fall to the ground. They can range from the tens to many hundreds
They are designed to explode on impact but as many as a third don’t, and remain a deadly risk to civilians for years to come
94% of recorded cluster bomb casualties are civilians, of which almost 40% are children
Note: Cluster munitions can vary widely in design and scale, this graphic only aims to explain their general function.
The danger posed by cluster weapons has prompted more than 100 countries – including the United Kingdom, France and Germany – to sign a treaty prohibiting their use.
US President Joe Biden told CNN that the decision whether to send cluster munitions to Ukraine was “very difficult,” but he opted to do so because Kyiv needs more ammunition to continue its fight to push Russian troops out of Ukrainian territory.
A top official at the US Defense Department said Kyiv gave “assurances in writing” that it would not use the cluster munitions in urban areas.
In his interview, Putin said that the Biden administration had called the use of cluster munitions a war crime and that he agreed with that assessment.
It’s not clear exactly which comments Putin was referring to, but former White House press secretary Jen Psaki said last year at the outset of the conflict that reports of Russia’s use of cluster bombs, if confirmed, would constitute a war crime.
Putin also claimed that Russia has not yet used cluster munitions, despite evidence to the contrary.
In March, the United Nations said it had compiled credible reports that Russian forces had used cluster munitions in populated areas at least 24 times. A CNN investigation last year found that the Kremlin fired 11 cluster rockets at Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, during the war’s opening days.