Russia argues that the United States demonstrates “weakness” by deciding to supply cluster bombs to Ukraine.
“It is an act of desperation and weakness against the background of the failure of the Ukrainian counter-offensive,” Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said in a statement.
Russian diplomacy denounced a “cynical attempt to prolong the agony of the current Ukrainian authorities without worrying about civilian casualties” from these bombs, which kill indiscriminately by dispersing small explosive charges before or after impact.
“By providing ‘cluster’ munitions, Washington will be complicit in the contamination and will share full responsibility for the deaths caused by the explosions, including those of Russian and Ukrainian children,” Moscow continued.
Already this morning, the Russian ambassador to the United States, Anatoli Antonov, considered the decision to send cluster bombs to Ukraine as an American provocation rather than “bringing humanity closer to a new world war.”
Antonov described the US action as a “gesture of desperation”, showing that the US “and its satellites have realized their powerlessness”.
In this sense, the Russian representative denounced “the brutality and cynicism” of the US authorities when addressing “the issue of the supply of lethal weapons to kyiv.”
The US president said the decision to send cluster bombs to Ukraine was “difficult” but necessary, as part of the new military aid package, justified by “Ukrainians running out of ammunition.”
In an interview with CNN television, Joe Biden indicated that the decision was made with the allies, despite Germany’s reservations and criticism from the non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch (HRW).
Cluster bombs have been banned in more than 100 countries due to the risk of harming the civilian population, since many dropped subprojectiles do not explode and can be buried in the ground and easily deactivated.
The military offensive launched on February 24, 2022 by Russia in Ukraine was justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security, an invasion condemned by the international community that has responded with the shipment of arms, in addition to the imposition of political and economic sanctions on Russia.
More than 9,000 civilians, including 500 children, have been killed since the Russian invasion began on February 24, 2022, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said in a statement issued on Friday, the day the fighting passed the 500-day mark. .
Source: TSF
