The U.S. military believes cluster munitions would be useful for Ukraine to retaliate against Russian forces, Laura Cooper, the Pentagon’s top official for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia, said Thursday, but they have not yet been approved for Kyiv because of restrictions imposed by Congress and concerns of allies, according to Reuters.
Kyiv urged members of Congress to pressure the administration of President Joe Biden to approve the deployment of dual-purpose advanced conventional munitions (DPICM).
Banned in more than 120 countries, cluster munitions typically fire large numbers of smaller projectiles that can indiscriminately kill a large area, including civilians.
“Our military analysts have confirmed that DPICM will be particularly useful against Russian trench positions on the battlefield,” Laura Cooper, deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia and Ukraine, told lawmakers during a congressional hearing.
“The reason you haven’t seen a step forward in providing this capability is due to both existing restrictions in Congress on providing DPICM and concerns about allied unity,” Cooper added.
The focus is on Ukraine’s actions against Russian defensive positions in the south and east, the initial stages of a counteroffensive aimed at pushing President Vladimir Putin’s forces back from territories seized after the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Since the beginning of the conflict, Ukraine has requested – and mostly received – weapons that the US initially refused, including HIMARS missile launchers, Patriot air defense batteries and Abrams tanks.
Opponents warn that when the bombs go off, they can maim and kill civilians and have a high failure rate, with unexploded ordnance dangerous for years after the war ends.
The 2008 treaty banning the production, use and stockpiling of cluster munitions has been adopted by 123 countries, including most of NATO’s 28 member states. The USA, Russia and Ukraine refused to join.
“In terms of battlefield effectiveness, we think it (the use of cluster munitions, no) will be beneficial,” Cooper said.
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Source: Hot News
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