Ukraine may have asked the United States for cluster bombs to be adapted for drones to hit Russian armored vehicles, two US lawmakers said, as quoted by Reuters.

Unexploded cluster bombs during the ongoing military conflict between Armenia and AzerbaijanPhoto: ARIS MESSINIS/ AFP/ Profimedia Images

Kyiv urged members of Congress to pressure the White House to approve the weapons shipment, but is far from certain that the Biden administration will sign off on it.

Banned in more than 120 countries, cluster munitions typically release large numbers of smaller bombs that can kill indiscriminately over a large area, threatening civilians.

US Representatives Jason Crowe and Adam Smith, members of the House Armed Services Committee, said Ukraine is seeking an MK-20 cluster bomb for drone attacks. This is in addition to the 155 mm cluster shells that Ukraine has already requested, they said.

They said Ukrainian officials urged US lawmakers at the Munich Security Conference last month to press for White House approval.

Ukraine hopes that cluster munitions will give it an advantage in the fierce battle against Russian forces in eastern Ukraine.

The Ukrainian government has publicly stated that it wants US cluster munitions. The request for the MK-20, also known as the CBU-100, has not been previously reported.

Fighting the human wave

Ukraine wants artillery shells – dual-purpose advanced conventional munitions (DPICM) – to stop the kind of “human wave” attacks that Russia has carried out during its months-long campaign to capture the ruined eastern city of Bakhmutul, lawmakers said.

Each projectile disperses 88 submunitions.

MK-20 is transported using a drone. It opens in full flight, releasing over 240 submunitions or arrow-like bombs.

The Ukrainian military believes these submunitions “have better armor penetration” than the weapons they launch from drones, said Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee.

Ukraine, which is fighting an enemy with more men and weapons, makes extensive use of drones to monitor and drop explosives on Russian forces.

Textron Systems ceased production of the MK-20 in 2016 after the United States stopped sales to Saudi Arabia, but a congressional aide said the U.S. military has more than 1 million of the bombs in its arsenal.

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