According to two U.S. officials, on Friday the Biden administration will announce a new weapons package for Ukraine, which will include the controversial cluster munitions Kyiv has long requested.
According to the source, the $800 million tranche will include "dozens" of air defense missiles, anti-mine equipment, and fighting vehicles like the Bradley and Stryker.
It is believed that providing the munitions, which the Russians have already used and which litter the battlefield, will give Kyiv an edge as its supplies of conventional weapons dwindle, while Ukrainian forces struggle to break through Russia's front lines during their counteroffensive. The officials and the source familiar with the matter spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an unannounced decision.
Over the past year, the Biden administration's position on selling Ukraine cluster bombs has evolved. More than 100 countries have banned the controversial weapons due to the risk of unexploded ordnance killing civilians. In December, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby expressed "concerns" about sending the weapons.
Recent policy shifts indicate an increased likelihood of sending cluster munitions to Ukraine as the country depletes its conventional weaponry. In a recent briefing to Congress, a senior Pentagon official explained that military analysts had determined that cluster munitions would be useful on the battlefield, particularly against entrenched Russian positions, but that they had not yet been provided due to Congressional restrictions and "concerns over allied unity."
Cluster munitions include various types of rockets, bombs, missiles, and artillery projectiles designed to disintegrate in flight and scatter debris over a wide area. Failure of the weapons poses a significant risk to civilian populations.
Humanitarian organizations estimate that up to 20% of munitions still pose a threat to civilians long after a conflict has ended. Over a hundred nations have signed a treaty to ban cluster bombs. Russia, the United States, and Ukraine are the only major powers that have not ratified the agreement.
The Ukrainian government has said that cluster bombs would be useful in a counterattack against Russia.
Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary Laura Cooper recently testified before Congress that cluster munitions would be useful in helping Ukraine counter Russia's "dug-in" positions.
According to reports, Russia has employed cluster bombs in the conflict in Ukraine.
Human rights advocates and legislators are worried about plans to ship cluster bombs to Ukraine.
Human Rights Watch's advocacy director Mary Wareham said on Thursday that transferring cluster munitions "disregards the substantial danger they pose to civilians and undermines the global effort to ban them."
Sara Jacobs (Democrat, California) said this would damage America's reputation internationally on human rights issues.
Speaking on Thursday, she said, "We've seen Russia's horrific use of cluster munitions in Ukraine — and we shouldn't cede the moral high ground by criticizing their actions and then deciding to send cluster munitions ourselves."
We want to win the future of Ukraine by constructing a free, open, and democratic Ukraine," Jacobs elaborated. However, cluster munitions thwart the economic recovery and reconstruction vital to Ukraine's future prosperity and the preservation of anti-corruption gains.
The Democrat from California went on to say that sending cluster munitions to Ukraine would "undermine our reputation as human rights defenders" in the international community.
According to the source, the $800 million tranche will include "dozens" of air defense missiles, anti-mine equipment, and fighting vehicles like the Bradley and Stryker.
It is believed that providing the munitions, which the Russians have already used and which litter the battlefield, will give Kyiv an edge as its supplies of conventional weapons dwindle, while Ukrainian forces struggle to break through Russia's front lines during their counteroffensive. The officials and the source familiar with the matter spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an unannounced decision.
Over the past year, the Biden administration's position on selling Ukraine cluster bombs has evolved. More than 100 countries have banned the controversial weapons due to the risk of unexploded ordnance killing civilians. In December, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby expressed "concerns" about sending the weapons.
Recent policy shifts indicate an increased likelihood of sending cluster munitions to Ukraine as the country depletes its conventional weaponry. In a recent briefing to Congress, a senior Pentagon official explained that military analysts had determined that cluster munitions would be useful on the battlefield, particularly against entrenched Russian positions, but that they had not yet been provided due to Congressional restrictions and "concerns over allied unity."
Cluster munitions include various types of rockets, bombs, missiles, and artillery projectiles designed to disintegrate in flight and scatter debris over a wide area. Failure of the weapons poses a significant risk to civilian populations.
Humanitarian organizations estimate that up to 20% of munitions still pose a threat to civilians long after a conflict has ended. Over a hundred nations have signed a treaty to ban cluster bombs. Russia, the United States, and Ukraine are the only major powers that have not ratified the agreement.
The Ukrainian government has said that cluster bombs would be useful in a counterattack against Russia.
Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary Laura Cooper recently testified before Congress that cluster munitions would be useful in helping Ukraine counter Russia's "dug-in" positions.
According to reports, Russia has employed cluster bombs in the conflict in Ukraine.
Human rights advocates and legislators are worried about plans to ship cluster bombs to Ukraine.
Human Rights Watch's advocacy director Mary Wareham said on Thursday that transferring cluster munitions "disregards the substantial danger they pose to civilians and undermines the global effort to ban them."
Sara Jacobs (Democrat, California) said this would damage America's reputation internationally on human rights issues.
Speaking on Thursday, she said, "We've seen Russia's horrific use of cluster munitions in Ukraine — and we shouldn't cede the moral high ground by criticizing their actions and then deciding to send cluster munitions ourselves."
We want to win the future of Ukraine by constructing a free, open, and democratic Ukraine," Jacobs elaborated. However, cluster munitions thwart the economic recovery and reconstruction vital to Ukraine's future prosperity and the preservation of anti-corruption gains.
The Democrat from California went on to say that sending cluster munitions to Ukraine would "undermine our reputation as human rights defenders" in the international community.
