Putin Warns Ukraine: Cluster Munitions Ready for Retaliation
Russia has a stockpile of cluster munitions and will contemplate employing them against Ukraine “if they are used against us,” according to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Putin’s remarks come just days after Ukraine received a shipment of cluster munitions manufactured in the United States, but according to a senior Ukrainian military official, they have not yet been employed.
During an interview with a pro-Kremlin journalist, the Russian head of state stated, “Russia has a sufficient supply of various types of cluster munitions.”
“If they are used against us, we reserve the right to mirror their actions.”
The controversial decision by Washington to dispatch cluster bombs to Kyiv was criticized by human rights organizations.
When discharged near populated areas, the weapons are especially hazardous to civilians and noncombatants because they disperse explosive material, known as “bomblets,” over large areas. Similar to landmines, those that do not ignite upon impact pose a long-term threat to anyone who comes into contact with them.
What exactly are cluster bombs?
Multiple explosives are dispersed over an area the size of several football fields by cluster munitions. They can be thrown from an aircraft or launched from land or sea.
More than 100 nations, including the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, have signed a treaty prohibiting the use of cluster munitions in response to the threat posed by these weapons.
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Joe Biden, the vice president of the United States, told CNN that the decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine was “extremely difficult,” but he ultimately decided to do so because Ukraine requires more ammunition to continue its fight against Russian forces on Ukrainian territory.
A senior official at the US Department of Defense stated that Kyiv provided “written assurances” that it would not use cluster munitions in urban areas.
Putin stated in his interview that he concurred with the Biden administration’s characterization of the use of cluster munitions as a war crime.
He did not specify which comments he was referring to, but former White House press secretary Jen Psaki stated at the beginning of the conflict last year that, if confirmed, Russia’s use of cluster bombs would comprise a war crime.
Putin also asserted that Russia has not yet employed cluster munitions, despite contradictory evidence.
In March, the United Nations reported that credible reports indicated that Russian forces had employed cluster munitions in populated areas at least twenty-four times. In the opening days of the conflict, the Kremlin fired eleven cluster rockets at Kharkiv, the second-largest city in Ukraine, according to an investigation conducted by CNN in 2014.
Putin Warns Ukraine: Cluster Munitions Ready for Retaliation
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