Ukraine confirms that the US Ministry of Defense claims that cluster ammunition has arrived in Ukraine
The US Department of Defense said on the 13th that the cluster ammunition provided by the United States has arrived in Ukraine.
Douglas Sims, an official in charge of operations at the US Joint Staff, confirmed at a press conference that "cluster ammunition has indeed been delivered to the Ukrainian side."
Sims said that another country has also provided cluster ammunition to Ukraine. He didn't say which country it was.
Ukrainian military official Alexander Tarnavsky confirmed in an interview with CNN on the 13th that Ukraine has just received cluster ammunition provided by the United States. "We haven't used them yet, but they can greatly change."
Tarnavsky claimed that Ukraine will not use cluster ammunition in densely populated areas. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said on the 12th that Ukraine will only use cluster ammunition against military targets. However, the Russian Embassy in the United States responded that the Russian side does not believe the Ukrainian side's statement.
The US government announced on the 7th of this month an additional $800 million worth of military aid to Ukraine, including lethal cluster ammunition. The US did not specify the specific quantity of cluster ammunition to aid Ukraine, only stating in the thousands.
Cluster ammunition can contain up to hundreds of submunitions, which are more lethal than regular ammunition, and unexploded submunitions may pose a long-term threat to civilians. Over the past few decades, the US military has successively used cluster ammunition in the Vietnam War, Gulf War, Kosovo War, Afghanistan War, and Iraq War, causing extensive damage to civilian facilities and numerous civilian casualties.
The Russian side condemns the United States for providing cluster ammunition to Ukraine. Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said on the 7th that the US government completely ignores the inhumane views of experts, lawmakers, and others regarding the use of cluster ammunition, and ignores civilian casualties.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has warned that the US provision of cluster ammunition will force Russia to deploy similar weapons in a "tit for tat" manner. Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the Russian President, reiterated on the 12th that the Russian side will be forced to take countermeasures at that time.
Regarding the US government's provision of cluster ammunition to Ukraine, former Defense Department analyst and Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Karen Kvyatkovsky believes that the US move is aimed at "clearing inventory" because such weapons are banned in many countries and it is difficult for the US to export them for profit. Furthermore, although the use of cluster ammunition is not in line with the policies of many NATO countries, NATO has accepted the decision of the United States, once again demonstrating that the United States and NATO are "extremely hypocritical".