Features: Opposed Supply of Cluster Bombs to Ukraine
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1. US supplies Ukraine with cluster bombs, Russia: This is a crazy act!
Russia strongly condemned the steps taken by the United States (US), which has officially announced that it will supply Ukraine with cluster bombs or cluster munitions which are banned by the international community. Moscow called the transfer of dangerous weapons to Ukraine an act of insanity.
The weapons are part of an $800 million military aid package that brings total US aid to more than $40 billion since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said the US decision to supply Ukraine with cluster bombs was an admission of failure and a desperate attempt to prevent defeat. "Cluster munitions are a sign of desperation. Such actions speak of the US and its satellites' awareness of their impotence," Antonov told reporters.
Antonov assessed that the US does not want to admit the setback and failure of Ukraine's military efforts to carry out attacks on Russian territory. Therefore, they then carried out a new crazy act, by sending prohibited weapons to Ukraine. "The current level of US provocations is simply off scale, bringing humanity closer to a new world war," he stressed.
Cluster munitions are banned by more than 100 countries. They typically release large numbers of small bombs that can kill indiscriminately over wide areas and whose failure to explode poses a danger for decades after the conflict ends.
Human rights groups and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres also questioned Washington's decision to supply cluster bombs to Ukraine.
Responding to concerns from many parties, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that Ukraine had given written assurances that it would use extreme caution to minimize risks to civilians.
2. US allies also oppose sending cluster bombs to Ukraine
Allied countries of the United States (US) expressed dismay over Washington's decision to supply Ukraine with cluster bombs. On Friday, the US confirmed the shipment of the controversial weapons to Ukraine, with President Joe Biden calling it a "very difficult decision".
Britain, Canada and Spain have all expressed opposition to the use of the weapons. Cluster bombs have been banned by more than 100 countries because of the danger they pose to civilians.
They typically release many small bombs that can kill indiscriminately over a wide area. The ammunition has also sparked controversy over its failure rate - or futility. Unexploded bombs can remain in the ground for years.
In an interview with CNN on Friday, Biden said he had spoken to allies about the decision, which is part of an $800 million military aid package. The US president said it took him a while to be convinced to do so, but he had acted because the Ukrainians were running out of ammunition.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters that American cluster bombs sent to Ukraine were far more likely to fail than those used by Russia in the conflict. The decision was quickly criticized by human rights groups. Amnesty International says cluster munitions pose a major threat to civilian life, even long after the conflict has ended.
On Saturday, some of the US' Western allies refused to support his decision. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak highlighted that the UK is one of 123 countries that have signed the Cluster Munitions Convention, which prohibits the production or use of weapons and prohibits their use.
Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles went even further, telling reporters that her country had a firm commitment that certain weapons and bombs could not be sent to Ukraine. "No to cluster bombs and yes to the legitimate defense of Ukraine, which we understand cannot be done with cluster bombs," he said as quoted by the BBC, Sunday (9/7/2023).
The Canadian government has also said it is deeply concerned about the potential impact of the bombs - which sometimes do not explode for years - on children. Canada also said it opposes the use of cluster munitions and remains in full compliance with the Cluster Munitions Convention. "We take seriously our obligations under the Convention to promote universal adoption," he said in a statement.
"We are confident that our US friends do not take the decision to supply such ammunition lightly," German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit told reporters in Berlin.
The UN human rights office also condemned it, with a representative saying the use of such ammunition should be stopped immediately and not used anywhere.
A Russian defense ministry spokesman described the move as an act of desperation and evidence of helplessness in the face of the much-publicized failure of Ukraine's 'counteroffensive'. Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also said Ukraine's assurances it would use cluster munitions responsibly "meant nothing".
3. NATO Members: Supplying Cluster Bombs to Ukraine Was Wrong
Not only opponents, friends are also worried about plans to send cluster munitions or cluster bombs to Ukraine. Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles emphasized that cluster bombs should not be used by Ukraine under any circumstances.
The strong statement came a day after the United States (US) announced it would send the controversial weaponry to Ukraine, amid a shortage of conventional ammunition.
"Spain, based on its firm commitments with Ukraine, also has a firm commitment that certain weapons and bombs cannot be sent under any circumstances," Robles told reporters after a rally in Madrid.
"Spain said no to cluster bombs and yes to the legitimate defense of Ukraine, which we understand cannot be done with cluster bombs," added Robles, according to Reuters, quoted by Russia Today, Sunday (9/7/2023).
The White House on Friday announced that President Joe Biden has authorized the delivery of an unspecified amount of dual-purpose enhanced conventional munitions (DPICM) to Kiev, based on a "unanimous" recommendation from the president's national security team.
The munitions that can be fired from 155 mm artillery pieces supplied by NATO to Ukraine will scatter many small bombs over a wide area, however, some of them usually fail to explode, posing a major risk to civilians for years after the fighting ends.
That danger is why cluster munitions are banned by more than 120 countries, although the US, Ukraine and Russia are not parties to the ban.
Biden's decision was also criticized by Germany and Britain. However, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Friday told reporters that the delivery of these weapons was necessary to "bridge" the gap until Kiev's Western backers could increase production of conventional 155 mm rounds.
Speaking to CNN on Friday, Biden was more blunt. "It was a very difficult decision on my part," he said, claiming he signed off on the supplies because Ukraine was running out of ammunition.
"Cluster bombs are yet another 'Wunderwaffe' (wonder weapon) that Washington and Kiev are betting on, without thinking about the devastating consequences," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a press conference on Friday.
"Through the delivery of cluster munitions, Washington has become a de-facto accomplice in mining (Ukrainian) territory and will share full responsibility for the deaths of Russian and Ukrainian children," he stressed.
4. Traumatized, Cambodia asks Ukraine not to use cluster bombs
Cambodian Prime Minister (PM) Hun Sen urged Ukraine not to use cluster bombs. He cited Cambodia's "painful experience" of US cluster munitions dropped in the early 1970s, which had left tens of thousands maimed or killed.
"It would be the biggest danger for Ukraine in years or up to a hundred years if cluster bombs were used in Russian-occupied territory on Ukrainian territory," said Hun Sen, reported by CNA.
Hun Sen emphasized this after Washington announced plans to send the deadly weapons to Kiev to fight Russian forces. Humanitarian groups have previously also strongly condemned the US decision to supply cluster bombs, which may remain unexploded and potentially harm civilians for years.
Hun Sen said that in his country, for more than half a century there had been no way to destroy the remains of unexploded cluster bombs. "Out of pity for the Ukrainian people, I appeal to the US president as the supplier and the Ukrainian president as the recipient not to use cluster bombs in the war because the real victims are Ukrainian citizens," he said.
America dropped millions of bombs on Cambodia and Laos during the Vietnam War in the 1960s and 1970s in an attempt to attack communist bases. And after 30 years of civil war that ended in 1998, Cambodia is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world.
The effects of the US bombing campaign and the minefields left over from the conflict have long been felt. About 20,000 Cambodians have been killed over the past four decades after stepping on landmines or unexploded ordnance.
Cleanup work continues to this day, with the government pledging to clear all mines and unexploded ordnance by 2025. In January, a group of Ukrainian deminers visited Cambodia's minefields to learn from decades of bitter experience.
Earlier, Washington said it had received assurances from Ukraine that it would try to minimize risks to civilians. US President Joe Biden also admitted that supplying these weapons to Ukraine was a "difficult decision".
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