US considers supplying Ukraine with controversial cluster munitions as war rages on

Senior officials of the Biden administration have revealed that they are perusing Ukraine's requests to be provided with controversial cluster munition warheads. The weapons are banned by more than a hundred nations but have been used continuously to devastating effect by Russian forces as the war in Ukraine drags on.

Ukraine's request to be supplied with cluster munitions has been deemed by both US and Ukrainian officials as one of the most controversial requests made by Kyiv since Russia began its special military operation on February 24. As per a CNN report, senior officials from the Biden administration have been fielding this request for months and have not outrightly rejected it.

What are cluster munitions?

Imprecise by design, cluster munitions scatter “bomblets” across large areas which explode on impact. However, the bomblets pose a greater threat if they fail to explode as they then act similarly to landmines. According to weapons expert and director of Human Rights Watch Mark Hiznay, cluster munitions create “nasty, bloody fragmentation” to anyone struck by them due to dozens of submunitions that detonate across a large area at once.

Meanwhile, despite pledges made by the US to support Ukraine in its war against the Russian Federation and give it an upper hand at the negotiating table if such a situation arises, Kyiv has realized that military equipment from the West is not infinite and requested the United States to supply it with cluster munitions currently gathering dust in storage.

Significance of cluster munitions for Ukraine

Amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, which is entering its tenth month, cluster munitions could address major issues faced by the Kyiv administration. The first one was the need for additional ammunition for Ukrainian forces’ artillery and rocket systems, which were provided by the US and other allies. Secondly, the munitions will provide a way for the Ukrainian forces to close Russia’s numerical superiority in artillery, CNN reported.

However, even though the Biden government has not rejected the request keeping it into consideration in case military stockpiles get dangerously depleted, US officials have stated that the proposal has not received significant consideration yet. This is largely due to the statutory restrictions put on the US’ ability to transfer cluster munitions by Congress.