The Biden administration is now considering sending highly controversial ordnance to Ukraine, and a decision could be made in the coming weeks. According to reports late Thursday, the United States may soon send cluster munitions to aid Kyiv’s war efforts. Officials close to the matter told CNN that if approved, the weapons could be included in a new military aid package to Ukraine.
“These would undoubtedly have a significant battlefield impact,” a U.S. official told CNN on Thursday.
Ukraine has already received vast quantities of U.S. and Western military aid, including air-defense systems, anti-tank weapons, and notably main battle tanks (MBTs). In early June, Kyiv launched its long-anticipated counteroffensive but has failed to make significant gains – largely due to the fact that Russian forces had months to prepare and have fortified their positions.
The Ukrainian military has been able to take back some territory, but the offensive has been slow going.
Cluster Munitions – A Potential Gamechanger?
Kyiv has been calling for the U.S. to provide it with dual purpose improved conventional munitions (DPICMs), which are surface-to-surface warheads that explode and disperse multiple small munitions or bombs over wide areas. This results in a greater widespread destruction than a single round. Moreover, the rounds can be shaped charges that penetrate armored vehicles, or they can shatter or fragment to be more dangerous and deadly for personnel.
Human rights groups oppose the use of cluster bombs as the unexploded bomblets, so-called duds, can explode after a battle – presenting a threat to innocent civilians. U.S. allies, including the UK, France, and Germany, are also signatories to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, an international treaty that bans the transfer, use, and stockpiling of the weapons.
More than 100 nations are also signatories, but the U.S., Ukraine, and Russia are not.
The Kremlin’s forces – who also used the munitions to devastating effect on civilians in Syria – have already employed cluster bombs against civilian targets, including parks, clinics, and a cultural center, according to an investigation by Human Rights Watch.
The cluster munitions can be launched from High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), as well as the 155mm Howitzers, each of which the U.S. provided to Ukraine as part of the $41 billion in security assistance since the war began in February 2022.
Use ’em or Lose ’em
The U.S. has large stockpiles of the ordnance, which was developed during the Cold War. The munitions are now nearing the end of their shelf life, and have been gradually phased out since 2016.
This week, a bipartisan group of members of Congress sent a letter asking the Biden administration to unleash the “untapped, vast arsenal” to Ukraine.
It was also last week that Laura Cooper, the Pentagon’s Europe chief, told lawmakers on the House Foreign Affairs Committee that “DPICM would be useful, especially against dug-in Russian positions on the battlefield,” Politico reported.
“DPICMs would be incredibly effective against the heavily fortified Russian defensive positions the Ukrainians must now breach. If Ukraine is unable to make significant progress, the Biden administration’s continued slow-rolling of critical weapons systems will be largely to blame,” said Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, also said the Department of Defense (DoD) has been actively discussing any transfer of the DPICMs to Ukraine. However, not all of his Democratic colleagues are on board with such a plan.
Fourteen Senate Democrats wrote to national security adviser Jake Sullivan last week warning “the humanitarian costs and damage to coalition unity of providing U.S. cluster munitions would outweigh the tactical benefits, and urge the president not to approve such a transfer.”
Author Experience and Expertise
A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
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