NATO takes a stand against the possible use of cluster bombs by Ukraine. The United States has indicated this week its willingness to provide fragmentation bombs to kyiv so that it can continue its counteroffensive and expel the invading army from its territory. There are no exact details of how many or which ones, but the question is a serious problem for the image of the Atlantic Alliance, which is internally divided.
It is not a debate how those that have been seen in the last year, focused on the risk of escalation. European and NATO partners first sent medical aid to Ukraine, then bullets and small arms. Then automatic weapons, anti-aircraft defenses, artillery, howitzers. And the increase continued with tanks, advanced missiles or fighters. Before each jump there was discussion and concern, because every action has a reaction in Moscow. But this time the suspicion is of a different type, and for very objective reasons. Russia has used cluster bombs without qualms, and to the outrage of the West. Its manufacture, storage and use is prohibited in the more than a hundred countries that have signed the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, which ironically was launched at the proposal of the then Prime Minister of Norway, Jens Stoltenberg. But neither the US, Ukraine nor Russia are part of it.
“NATO as an Alliance does not have a position on the Convention on Cluster Munitions because several Allies have signed the convention, but others have not. And it is up to individual Allies to make decisions about the delivery of weapons and military supplies to Ukraine,” he said. said this Friday the now general secretary Stoltenberg, trapped in a really uncomfortable position. He, like many states, starting with Germany, is not in favor. They understand that Ukraine needs weapons, that it has the right to defend itself, and they know that ammunition production is stagnant. But fragmentation bombs cause real atrocities when they are used, and that is why their extinction was advocated.
“It will be the governments’ decision and not NATO as an Alliance. We are facing a brutal war and we have to remember that this brutality is also reflected in the fact that we see casualties every day, and that cluster munitions are used by both sides. Russia uses cluster bombs in its brutal war aggression, to invade another country, while Ukraine uses them to defend itself. The best way to end this brutal war is for President Putin and Russia to stop attacking. That is also the best way to stop all the suffering, the casualties (…) For 500 days, Moscow has brought death and destruction to the heart of Europe, seeking to destroy Ukraine and divide NATO”, said the Norwegian in one of his traditional balancing exercises.
Next week, NATO leaders will meet in Lithuania, where they plan to support Kiev on at least three levels: “First, we will agree on a multi-year assistance program to ensure full interoperability between the armed forces of Ukraine and NATO. Secondly, we will enhance our political ties through the establishment of the NATO-Ukraine Council. And thirdly, I hope that the allied leaders will reaffirm that Ukraine will become a member of NATO in the future,” he told a conference. press conference prior to the meeting at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels.
The issue of cluster bombs is not part of the agenda, but it has become one of the main issues for corridors and huddles. They are already being used on the ground, by both parties. In Washington they argue that kyiv would use them to expel soldiers, while Moscow uses them to kill civilians by destroying cities. But it’s still a problem when so much of the narrative deals with brutality, indiscriminate killing, and savage methods. The 31 partners, and the candidate Sweden, have written that Ukraine, the 33rd candidate, and that she will not take a promise from Vilnius like the one she wants, with specific dates, must win. But not at any price, or in any way. Especially when there are alternatives. The Alliance now, like the EU, has to be able to provide them.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
