U.S. to give Ukraine cluster munitions, UN chief voices opposition

The U.S. announced on Friday that it will send Ukraine cluster munitions, prohibited by more than 100 countries, as part of an $800-million security package, drawing opposition from UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesperson for Guterres, said the secretary general supports the Convention on Cluster Munitions and is against the use of such weapons on the battlefield.

Cluster munitions typically release large numbers of smaller bomblets that can kill indiscriminately over a wide area. But once they’re left unexploded, the bomblets function very similarly to landmines, which means they can still detonate decades after they are dropped.

For example in south Lebanon, cluster munitions fired by Israel during the 2006 war continue to endanger civilians today.

Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, recognized on Friday that cluster munitions create a risk of civilian harm from unexploded ordnance, but insisted that Ukraine needs the artillery to defend against Russia as they’re running out of ammunition.

“Ukraine has provided written assurances that it is going to use these in a very careful way” to minimize risks to civilians, Sullivan said, adding that the U.S. National Security Council was unanimous in its assent to send the weapons.

The security assistance package announced by the Pentagon included cluster munitions fired by 155-millimeter Howitzer cannons, 31 additional Howitzer cannons, additional munitions for Patriot air defenses and anti-tank weapons.

New Penguin drones, munitions for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and ground vehicles such as Bradley fighting vehicles and Stryker armored personnel carriers were also included in the security aid – the 42nd such U.S. package for Ukraine totaling more than $40 billion since the invasion.

While cluster munitions are not banned internationally, more than 120 countries, including most NATO members, have signed on to a convention prohibiting their use. The U.S., Ukraine and Russia are not party to that agreement.

Human rights groups opposed the U.S. decision to provide cluster munitions and called on Washington to reconsider its policy.

U.S. ally Germany also opposes sending cluster munitions to Ukraine, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said.

But NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg suggested that the alliance does not take a position on the issue, leaving it to the individual states to make their own policies.

A 2009 U.S. law bans exports of American cluster munitions with bomblet failure rates higher than 1 percent, which covers virtually the entire U.S. military stockpile. Biden waived prohibitions around the munitions, just as his predecessor Donald Trump did in 2021 to allow the export of cluster munitions technology to South Korea.