The United States announced on Friday that it will send Ukraine cluster munitions banned by more than 100 countries as part of an $800 million security package that Ukraine says will have an “extraordinary psycho-emotional impact” on Russian troops. President Joe Biden signed a presidential authorisation for the transfer in recent days, two officials said. A full list of the aid package can be found below.
Advanced Dual Purpose Conventional Munitions (DPICMs) are surface-to-surface munitions that explode and disperse multiple small munitions or bombs over large areas, causing more widespread destruction than single shots. These shells can be charges that penetrate armoured vehicles, or they can shatter into fragments or fragments, making them more dangerous to people.
Some human rights groups oppose their use because of fears that unexploded bombs, or “duds,” could explode after a battle, potentially injuring or killing innocent civilians. But White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the munitions are critical for Ukraine to maintain its military operations against the Russian occupiers.
“We will not leave Ukraine defenceless at any stage of this conflict, period,” he said.
Sullivan noted that US cluster munitions have a much lower failure rate than those used by the Russians, and Ukraine has provided assurances that it will use these weapons carefully to minimise risks to civilians.
“These are their citizens, these are Ukrainians they’re trying to protect,” Sullivan added. “It’s not Ukraine that takes them and uses them in the Middle East, or in Southeast Asia, or in some faraway country. They are using them on their own territory to protect their territory.”
Colin Kahl, the US undersecretary of defence for policy, said Ukraine had pledged to record where it uses the shells, not to fire them at civilians or urban areas, and to start demining operations after the war.
At an unrelated event at the White House, Biden gave a brief answer when asked why he agreed to send weapons to Ukraine at this time. “They’re running out of ammunition,” he said.
Ukraine has been asking the US for DPICMs since last year, but the idea has been met with resistance due to an international treaty that prohibits the transfer, use and stockpiling of these weapons.
The United States, Ukraine and Russia are not signatories to the treaty, called the Convention on Cluster Munitions, but U.S. law requires the president to sign a waiver before exporting cluster munitions with a kill rate of more than 1 percent. The DPICM cluster munitions to be provided by the United States have a false positive rate of 1.3% to 2.35%.
According to officials, the US has about 10,000 cluster munitions in Europe that can be shipped to Ukraine almost immediately.
The United States developed cluster munitions during the Cold War and subsequently stockpiled large quantities of such munitions, many of which are now approaching the end of their shelf life. Last week, a bipartisan group of members of Congress sent a letter asking the Biden administration to provide Ukraine with “an unused, vast arsenal of munitions”. DPICMs can fire artillery systems that the US has already provided to Ukraine.
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