First the rumors of New York Timesfollowed by those of Washington Post. But those who so far were only rumors in major American news outlets, they received theirs he confirms: National Security Advisor Jake Sullivanduring a briefing at the White Houseconfirmed that the Usa they will supply cluster bombs to Ukrainedespite the risks to civilians that Kiev has undertaken in writing to minimize. And that the president and his advisers they adopted “a unanimous decision” in this regard. Bidenin an interview with Cnn which will be broadcast in full on Sunday, revealed it was “very difficult” but added that the Ukraineran out of ammunition, he asked for and needed it. The president specified that there was also the favorable recommendation of the Pentagon and that the cluster bombs intended for Kiev are compatible with the 155mm artillery pieces supplied by the Usa and will be provided for a “transition period”, until the American companies they will not be able to produce more conventional 155mm ammunition.
Per Sullivan the supply of this ammunition “is the right thing to do now”. “There Russia it has used cluster munitions since the beginning of this war. Ukraine has asked for cluster munitions to defend againstRussian aggression“, he has declared. “The bottom line is this, we recognize that the cluster munitions are a risk, but there is also a risk if the Russians take more territory.” The United States thus circumvent a national law that prohibits the production, use or transfer of “cluster bombs” with a failure rate greater than 1%. More than 120 countries – 123 to be exact – have adhered to the convention which prohibits them, with the exception of United States, Ukraine e Russia. Italy signed it in 2008 and ratified it in 2011, with effect from 2012. L’Heras well as Paris e Berlin which are among the signatory countries, said they were against sending these weapons, while the secretary general of NATO Jens Stoltenberg stated that theAtlantic Alliance “has no position” on the issue.
In view of the decision of the White House, Zelensky he expressed gratitude for the new US military assistance package, calling it “timely” and “much needed”. “A package timelylarge-scale and a lot necessary of defense assistance by the States United. We are grateful to the American people and the President Joe Biden for the decisive steps they bring the Ukraine to victory over the enemy and to democracy, to victory over dictatorship. Increased defense capabilities of Ukraine – she added – will provide new tools to liberate our land and bring us closer to peace”.
What are the cluster bombs – They turn the area they are dropped into into a huge minefield. They can remain unexploded and endanger civilians years after a conflict has ended. I am planned ordnance to activate when they are still at altitude, after having been dropped from aircraft or fired from artillery systems, and release hundreds of small bombs in the area that will indiscriminately hit a more or less large area of territory. So it’s not about weapons defenceBut say offense.
More American aid to Kiev – A spokesman for the American defensethe general Patrick Ryderannounced that the United States they will “carefully select” the ammunition in cluster per the Ukraine so that they have an error rate of 2.35% or less, referring to the percentage of sub-munitions carried by each shell that would remain unexploded. Cluster munitions fit into a further aid package to Ukraine – the 42nd since the beginning of the war – of 800 million dollars which will also include ammunition for Patriot air defense systems and for missile systems Himarsarmored vehicles Stryker and precision aerial munitions. There White House also considered the approval of the tactical missile system long range Atacmswhich has a range of about 300 km, sufficient to hit Russian targets far behind the front lines, even in Crimea where Iranian-made drone attacks start from. There Meanwhile, the EU is accelerating towards the approval of a 500 million euro agreement to strengthen the production of ammunition and missiles for Ukraine.
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Human Rights Watch he had urged Usa to refrain from sending them and the Russia e the Ukraine to “immediately stop” using these weapons, c
The projectile in question and its failure rate – The main weapon under consideration, a M864 artillery shell first produced in 1987, it is fired by howitzers from 155 mm that the United States and other Western countries have supplied to Ukraine. In its latest available estimate, dating back more than 20 years, the Pentagon claimed that those bullets had a 6% failure rate, meaning that at least four of each of the 72 submunitions carried by each shell would remain unexploded in an area of approximately 22,500 square meters, roughly the size of four and a half football fields. “We are aware of reports from several decades ago indicating that some 155mm shells have higher failure ratessaid a defense official, one of seven Pentagon, White House and military officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive decision. The Pentagon now claims it has new ratingsbased on tests performed in 2020, with failure rates not exceeding 2.35%.
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UN, Paris and Berlin against. Stoltenberg: “The states decide on sending cluster munitions” – It was the same woman who urged the sending of cluster bombs presidency Ukraine and even today the presidential adviser to Zelensky Mykhailo Podolyak came back to stress on Twitter that “in war the number of weapons counts”, urging the allies to send them. And he also specifically emphasized “cluster munitions.” “In the great bloody war going on for 16 months which will predetermine the future of the world, whether it will be lawless (Russian) or will exist after all the international law, the number of weapons matters. So, weapons, more weapons and even more weapons, including cluster munitions,” Podolyak tweeted, urging people to avoid discussions about “Russian plans and concerns”.
The allies of Washington they reacted cautiously, without criticizing the decision Usa. Paris e Berlin they explained that they will not follow through on the move by Biden citing the convention which they signed. “There Germania signed the convention, that’s not an option for us,” commented the German defense minister Boris Pistoriusbut at the same time the German government spokesman, Steffen Hebestreitat the press conference stated that “our US friends have not taken the decision lightly” to provide them, and underlined the extraordinary nature of the contingency: “We are dealing with a special context in this situation. Ukraine use its ammo to protect yours civilian population. It is a use by the government Ukrainian to liberate their territory,” he said Hebestreit. “We should also remember that the Russia it has already used cluster munitions on a large scale in a war of aggression against Ukraine that violates international law”. The Secretary General of United Nations, Antonio Guterres, said he was against it and reiterated that he supports “the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) and wants countries to respect the terms of this convention. So as a result, obviously, he doesn’t want there to be continued use of cluster munitions on the battlefield,” he added. The USA, Ukraine and Russia do not adhere to the convention which prohibits the use and transfer of such ammunition.
As for the location of the Nato the general secretary Jens Stoltenberg specified that the Alliance does not have one, because “some allies” have signed the UN convention which bans them, and “others do not”, therefore “it is up to the individuals States” decide which weapons and ammunition to supply to Ukraine. Cluster munitions, he said, “are already used in the war in Ukraine by both sides: the difference is that the Russia use them for attack and invade Ukraine, while Kiev uses them to protect itself from the aggressor“, he continued, specifying that he believes that they are defensive weapons. “All allies agree that we must provide military support to Ukraine: exactly what kind of weapons e you ammunition” are delivered in Kiev “varies by country and will continue to vary,” he concluded Stoltenberg.