US cluster munitions arrive in Ukraine, Pentagon confirms

U.S.-supplied cluster munitions have reached Ukraine after President Biden last week said he had made the “difficult decision” to approve the controversial transfer, a top military officer confirmed Thursday 

CNN first reported that a Ukrainian general confirmed Kyiv has received the weapons, but they had yet to use them on the battlefield.  

“There are cluster munitions in Ukraine at this time,” Lt. Gen. Douglas Sims, joint staff director for operations, told reporters Thursday.

Cluster bombs are highly controversial munitions that are outlawed by more than 100 nations because of the long-lasting risk they pose to civilians. Explosions from the devices indiscriminately disperse hundreds of projectiles over a larger area, some of which may not explode on impact.

Biden has defended his decision to send the weapons to Kyiv over concerns that Ukrainian troops are running low on ammunition as they attempt a large-scale counteroffensive against Russian forces to take back territory.  

U.S. and Ukrainian officials have argued that the cluster munitions could help break through Russian defenses and be a “game changer” in the war. 

But lawmakers in Washington and human rights groups have expressed concerns about the transfer, arguing that the bombs will threaten civilians’ safety.  

U.S. officials, meanwhile, have said they received assurances from Ukrainian officials that they will not use the munitions in areas with civilians. 

“Our folks in Europe are in constant communications with the Ukrainian leadership on all sorts of thoughts about tactics, techniques and procedures.” Sims said. “We’ve talked with Ukrainian leadership about the employment of cluster munition.”

He added that Ukraine does not have “any interest in using the cluster munitions anywhere near the civilian population, unlike the Russians.” 

“The Russians have employed these weapons against civilians in civilian communities, which is a significant difference from what the Ukrainians intend to do,” Sims said. “The Ukrainians intend to use cluster munitions in the tactical environment against Russians, not against civilians.” 

However, opponents of the weapons argue that arenas of war today may become civilian areas later, and the unexploded bombs could explode on unsuspecting civilians years from now — as they have in other post-war countries.

“These unexploded cluster munitions will be killing and maiming innocent Ukrainian men, women, and children for decades to come, long after the war — we pray — has ended,” former President Trump said in a statement earlier this week.