The use of cluster munitions is banned in more than 120 countries. Ukraine wants proof that Russia is still using them in the war. Accordingly, Kiev itself supports the demand for the supply of weapons of the controversial type of ammunition.
According to US House of Representatives Jason Crow and Adam Smith, Ukraine has demanded the delivery of internationally banned cluster munitions. These are bombs that release a variety of other smaller bombs that can be used to cover entire areas.
According to the information, the Ukrainian army wants to use the cluster munitions against the attack waves of Russian soldiers and mercenaries. In the east of the country, both armies have been fighting each other for weeks, with high casualties on both sides.
The Ukrainian request for the controversial ammunition therefore has a special background. The Ukrainian military wants to exploit the cluster bombs in order to be able to drop the anti-tank bombs they contain on Russian forces from drones. That is why Ukraine explicitly requested the MK-20 bomb (also known as CBU-100), the two MPs reported. This is in addition to the 155mm artillery cluster shells that Ukraine has previously requested, they said.
Cluster munitions are banned in more than 120 countries. However, Ukraine has not signed the international treaty on the ban. The ammunition is controversial mainly because a significant percentage of its explosive devices do not detonate but remain on site as duds, thus endangering the population.
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba pointed out that there are no legal obstacles to the use of cluster bombs. If his country gets them, they will only be used against Russian forces. Ukraine has evidence that Russia is using cluster munitions, he stressed.
Ukraine’s demands for the delivery of cluster munitions and phosphorus incendiary weapons recently caused a stir at the Munich Security Conference. Deputy Prime Minister Olexander Kubrakov said at the conference that the United States and several other allies had millions of shots from it. He argued that this type of ammunition could help withstand the attackers.
