According to John Kirby, spokesperson for the White House's National Security Council, the U.S. is supplying controversial cluster munitions to Ukraine temporarily until other ammunition is ready. Kirby defended the decision even though many countries have banned them due to their risk to civilians, arguing that preventing Russia from winning the war would be the best way to protect non-combatants. Ukraine is using up its other artillery at a rate of "many thousands of rounds per day," leading to a shortage. - The cluster bombs are intended to "bridge the gap" as the U.S. ramps up production of regular artillery shells.
- More than 120 countries, including U.S. allies like Germany, Spain, and the U.K., have refused to use or produce cluster munitions.
- The U.S. maintains that the munitions will have a low "dud rate" of unexploded bomblets.
- The U.S. is also working to expedite the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, which is not expected until the end of the year.
- Ukraine's new counteroffensive against Russia's invasion is moving slower than hoped, leading to a search for ways to speed up the retaking of occupied territory.
The Cluster Munition Coalition is an international civil society campaign working to eradicate cluster munitions, prevent further casualties from these weapons, and end the human suffering they cause. - In 2008, former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates issued an order to phase out cluster munitions with an unexploded ordnance rate of greater than 1% by 2018. The Obama Administration affirmed this policy in 2011.
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