Ukraine Receives Cluster Munitions Sent By US, Pledges To Use Only For Deoccupation Of Territories

Ukraine has received the cluster bombs sent the US and pledged that it will use them for the limited purpose of dislodging concentrations of enemy soldiers.

Cluster bomb capluse in Avdiivka, Ukraine.

Source : Getty Images

The controversial cluster bombs from the United States have arrived in Ukraine a week after the announcement as the conflict with Russia continues, reported Reuters. The cluster munitions, banned in more than 100 countries, are a part of an $800-million security package offered by the US. However, Ukraine pledged that it will only use the bombs to dislodge concentrations of enemy soldiers, Reuters said in the report. The Pentagon also announced their arrival, the report added. 

Meanwhile, Russia denounced their shipment. Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu warned on Thursday that Moscow could resort to deploying similar weaponry if faced with their use, Reuters mentioned in the report 

Ukrainian officials said that their deployment is justified in view of Russia's mining of vast tracts of land it has seized. Notably, Ukraine launched a counter-offensive more than 500 days into the war. The Ukrainian military focused on capturing groups of villages in the southeast and retaking areas around the eastern city of Bakhmut, seized by Russian forces in May, added Reuters in the report. 

"This will further demotivate Russian occupying forces and fundamentally change things in favour of the Ukrainian armed forces," Shershen told US-funded Radio Liberty, as quoted by Reuters. He added that the munitions would be used strictly within the legal framework, "only for the deoccupation of our territories". 

"They will not be used on Russian territory...They will be used only in areas where Russian military forces are concentrated in order to break through enemy defences," he was further quoted as saying by Reuters. 

Cluster munitions typically release large numbers of smaller bomblets that can kill indiscriminately over a wide area. Those that fail to explode pose a danger for decades. Both Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of using cluster bombs in the conflict launched by Russia's invasion in February 2022. 

As per Reuters, Human Rights Watch said both Moscow and Kyiv have used cluster munitions. Russia, Ukraine and the US have not signed up to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which bans the production, stockpiling, use and transfer of the weapons, Reuters added in the report. 

The US' decision of supplying cluster munitions to Ukraine has been opposed by Spain and Canada, while Britain said it was part of a convention that discourages the use of the weapons. Several US Democratic lawmakers also raised their concerns about the decision. 

Ukrainian military analyst Oleskander Musiyenko said he assumed the weapons would be used in the south as that area's commander had announced their arrival. "We can say that it is in the south where it is planned to pierce and destroy the fortifications of the enemy's defence line," Musiyenko told Ukrainian television. "I think cluster munitions will expand the capabilities of our troops," he added, as per Reuters. 

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