The United States on Friday announced new military aid in support of Ukraine against Russia, including cluster munitions, crossing a new threshold in the type of weaponry provided to kyiv. Washington’s announcement drew strong criticism from NGOs and embarrassment from European countries. Some elements to better understand this turning point in the war in Ukraine.
• What are cluster munitions?
Cluster munitions (dual-purpose better conventional munitions, or DPICMS) are missiles, artillery shells, and rockets, fired from armored vehicles, cannons, or launched during air strikes. These weapons look like conventional munitions, except that they deliver anywhere from a few dozen to a few hundred unguided mini-bombs weighing less than 20 kilograms each into the air over an area of several hundred square meters.
The model that the United States will supply to Ukraine is the M864, American-made 155-mm artillery shells with 88 mini-bombs that are spread over a 5-square-kilometre area. They are compatible with artillery pieces supplied to Ukraine by NATO countries, the range of which reaches 20 kilometers.
130 countries are signatories to the 2008 Oslo Convention, which entered into force in 2010, which prohibits these weapons, classified as “dirty weapons.” Among them, most of the European countries and NATO that have committed themselves not to produce them, not to use them, not to sell them and not to store them.
The United States, Russia, Ukraine and China have not signed this treaty. The Americans produce it and have a large stock. A law prohibits its export, but gives the president the ability to do so if the national interest is at stake, which Joe Biden did to help Ukraine speed up a counteroffensive hampered by a lack of ammunition.
• Why are they prohibited?
The danger of these bombs lies in the blind hits, but also in the fact that they do not explode, becoming scattered mines in areas that are impossible to locate. Up to 40% of minibombs do not explode and therefore remain active for decades. This is the case of Vietnam, Laos or Cambodia where these bombs are still scattered throughout the territory. Cambodia has also warned kyiv of the long-term danger.
According to the CMAC (Cambodia Mine Control Center), the US military dropped 30 million on the country until 1973. Since then, 20,000 civilians have been killed by these explosives, which have also left tens of thousands maimed. Last January, the CMAC trained fifteen members of the Ukrainian civil security in demining techniques. This training was co-financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Washington claims the M864s have a 2-4% failure rate. But also, they are identifiable by their yellow color to protect themselves and recover after fights. Zero risk does not exist.
• What tactical bets for Ukraine?
For Ukraine, the use of this ammunition has several interests. With a single shot, they can hit multiple targets over a wide area. They make it possible to block a column of armored vehicles at the same time, to neutralize with a single shot the soldiers distributed in several zigzag dug trenches that require dozens of conventional projectiles to overcome them.
Finally, they will be used to clear the minefields installed by the Russian army. When bombarding these areas, Minibombs and mines will explode in unison, clearing the ground. Ukraine has only a few means of demining. Use robots or tanks modified with farming gadgets to dig up the soil and mine the surface.
Cluster bombs are also intended to address the lack of conventional ammunition that allied countries struggle to provide for both budgetary and industrial reasons. They may also allow waiting for the arrival of F-16 fighter jets and pilot training. And above all, they will preserve the lives of Russian soldiers and facilitate their advance in difficult areas.
kyiv has pledged to abide by a doctrine for the use of these weapons. They will be used only in the occupied territories and in particular for mine clearance, never in the cities but in the occupation zones of the Russian army, a register will be kept to record the shots and clear the zones at the time of reconstruction. of the country A report of each shot will be made for the countries allied with Ukraine.
• Russia protests, but is accused of using it against Ukraine
Joe Biden’s announcement to supply cluster munitions to Ukraine angered Moscow. According to Dmitry Medvedev, vice president of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, this delivery marks the entry into a new phase of the conflict that could one day become nuclear.
Even so, Russia is accused of having already used it in Ukraine on several occasions. A United Nations report published in May 2022 claims that Russian forces used them in areas of populated areas, including several Kharkiv districts, killing 9 civilians and injuring 37.
On February 24, 2022, a cluster bomb hit Vuhledar Central Hospital in the Ukrainian government-controlled city of Donetsk.
In March, the Mariupol hospital was attacked twice by these weapons, causing several dozen victims. According to the services of High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet, “the indiscriminate use of these weapons could constitute war crimes.”
• What are the positions of kyiv’s partners regarding the US decision?
Ukraine has been asking its allies for these cluster bombs for months. By agreeing to hand it over, Joe Biden is not creating a division between the kyiv partners, but a clearly visible gene through the statements of several partner countries.
The President of the German Republic, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, takes the same line. He called not to “block” the United States in its desire to drop these bombs, while defending his opposition to the use of these controversial weapons. He himself signed the Oslo Convention on behalf of Germany when he was Foreign Minister.
Paris and London have also recalled their opposition to these weapons, on behalf of the Oslo convention to which they are signatories. “We understand the arbitration that the United States has reached in its desire to help Ukraine,” however, the Quai d’Orsay qualified.
Source: BFM TV
