US President Joe Biden has stood by his “very difficult decision” to supply Ukraine with cluster bombs, despite concerns over their history of causing harm to civilians.
Biden acknowledged that it took some time for him to be convinced of the necessity, but he ultimately took action due to Ukraine’s depleting ammunition supplies.
While Ukraine’s leader expressed appreciation for the move, the decision has faced criticism from human rights organizations and certain members of the Democratic Party. Meanwhile, a Moscow envoy condemned the decision as “cynical” on the part of Washington.
Mr Biden told CNN in an interview on Friday that he had spoken to allies about the decision, which comes ahead of a Nato summit in Lithuania next week.
Cluster bombs are banned by more than 120 countries, but have been used by both Russia and Ukraine during the war.
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told Friday’s daily White House briefing that officials “recognise the cluster munitions create a risk of civilian harm” from unexploded bombs.
“This is why we’ve deferred the decision for as long as we could.”
Mr Sullivan said Ukraine was running out of artillery and needed “a bridge of supplies” while the US ramps up domestic production.
“We will not leave Ukraine defenceless at any point in this conflict period,” he said.
The munitions have caused controversy over their failure – or dud – rate, meaning unexploded small bombs can linger on the ground for years and indiscriminately detonate later on.
Mr Sullivan told reporters the American cluster bombs being sent to Ukraine were far safer than those he said were already being used by Russia in the conflict.
He told reporters the US ones have a dud rate of less than 2.5%, while Russia’s have a dud rate of between 30-40%, he said.
Mr Biden’s move will bypass US law prohibiting the production, use or transfer of cluster munitions with a failure rate of more than 1%.
Early on in the war, when the White House was asked about allegations that Russia was using cluster and vacuum bombs, the then-press secretary said it would be a potential “war crime” if true.
Marta Hurtado, speaking for the UN human rights office, said on Friday: “The use of such munitions should stop immediately and not be used in any place.”