White House to Supply Ukraine with Cluster Munitions Despite Safety Concerns
In a controversial move, the White House announced on Friday that it would provide Ukraine with cluster munitions despite concerns over their safety and potential harm to civilians. The decision came after assurances from Pentagon officials that the weapons had been improved to minimize the danger they pose.
Cluster munitions are weapons that drop small grenades designed to destroy armored vehicles and troops in the open. However, they often fail to explode immediately and can pose a deadly threat years or even decades later. These unexploded grenades have the potential to harm adults and children who stumble upon them.
While the Pentagon claims that the cluster munitions being sent to Ukraine have a failure rate of 2.35 percent or less, their own statements indicate that the weapons contain older grenades known to have a failure rate of 14 percent or more. The grenades are 155-millimeter artillery shells that break open midair and release 72 small grenades upon impact.
Al Vosburgh, a retired Army colonel trained in bomb disposal, warns that a massive educational campaign will be needed to warn civilians of the risks of unexploded grenades once the shooting stops in Ukraine. He emphasizes the danger of moving these dud grenades, stating that they cannot be safely handled by hand.
The Biden administration defended the decision to provide cluster munitions to Ukraine, citing Russia’s use of the weapons since the beginning of the war. Ukraine has also used Russian-made cluster munitions and has repeatedly requested American-made ones.
It is worth noting that cluster munitions are banned by more than 100 countries due to their high civilian casualty rates. Both the United States and Russia, along with Ukraine, have not signed the treaty prohibiting their stockpiling or use.
Pentagon officials claim that the cluster munitions being sent to Ukraine have undergone comprehensive testing and have a low dud rate. However, bomb disposal technicians and civilian deminers in conflict zones have observed significantly higher dud rates in the field.
Critics argue that firing these cluster munitions in various terrains and environmental conditions can lead to higher dud rates. Soft ground, water, and vegetation can all affect the effectiveness of the grenades upon impact.
Despite the controversy surrounding the decision, the United States military designed modern models of cluster weapons in the 1970s and 1980s with the objective of countering a potential Soviet invasion of Western Europe. The weapons were envisioned to drop millions of submunitions on tanks and armored vehicles.