United States President Joe Biden defended his decision to provide cluster bombs to Ukraine, calling it a “very difficult decision”. The bomb has a record of taking the lives of civilians.
The president stated that it had taken him “a while to be convinced to do it”, however, he decided because “the Ukrainians are running out of ammunition”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the move, calling the aid package a “timely, broad and much-needed defence”, in a tweet and further thanked Biden for “decisive steps that bring Ukraine closer to victory over the enemy”.
“The expansion of Ukraine’s defence capabilities will provide new tools for the de-occupation of our land and bringing peace closer,” Zelensky wrote.
Decision to provide cluster bombs faces opposition
Meanwhile, a Moscow envoy slammed the decision taken by Washington, calling it “cynicism”. “The cruelty and cynicism with which Washington has approached the issue of transferring lethal weapons to Kyiv is striking,” said Anatoly Antonov, as quoted by Tass news agency.
“Now, by the fault of the US, there will be a risk for many years that innocent civilians will be blown up by submunitions that have failed,” he added. More than 120 nations have banned cluster bombs.
Meanwhile, UN human rights office spokesperson Marta Hurtado said, “The use of such munitions should stop immediately and not be used in any place.”
Vice-chair of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines and Cluster Munition Coalition Governance Board Paul Hannon said, “The Biden administration’s decision to transfer cluster munitions will contribute to the terrible casualties being suffered by Ukrainian civilians both immediately and for years to come. Russia and Ukraine’s use of cluster munitions is adding to Ukraine’s already massive contamination from explosive remnants and landmines.”
WATCH | US Cluster Bombs for Ukraine: Months of internal debate concludes
Biden’s decision was also opposed by his own Democratic party. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, criticising the decision, said, “We have to be clear: if the US is going to be a leader on international human rights, we must not participate in human rights abuses.”
“We can support the people of Ukraine in their freedom struggle, while also opposing violations of international law. In fact, the innocent victims of the cluster munitions will almost exclusively be Ukrainian civilians. Instead of dealing cluster munitions, we should be doing everything in our power to end their use,” she added.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan, White House briefing, had stated that officials “recognise the cluster munitions create a risk of civilian harm” from unexploded bombs. “This is why we’ve deferred the decision for as long as we could,” he had said.
(With inputs from agencies)
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