An arms aid package including cluster munitions fired by 155mm Howitzer howitzers is expected to be announced as early as Friday, according to three unnamed U.S. officials. One of the officials said the measure had been under serious consideration for at least a week.
Ukrainian soldiers prepare 155 mm artillery shells on the battlefield. Photo: AFP
The White House said sending cluster bombs to Ukraine "is being actively considered" but issued no announcement. President Joe Biden will attend the NATO summit next week in Lithuania to discuss the war in Ukraine.
Human Rights Watch is calling on Russia and Ukraine to stop using cluster munitions and urging the United States not to supply them. The group says both Russian and Ukrainian forces have used this type of weapon, resulting in the deaths of Ukrainian civilians.
This type of bomb, banned by more than 120 countries, typically releases a large number of smaller bombs that can kill indiscriminately over a wide area, threatening civilians. Unexploded bombs pose a danger for years after the conflict ends.
A 2009 law banned the export of certain types of U.S. cluster munitions. However, President Joe Biden may lift the ban on these bombs, as his predecessor Donald Trump did in January 2021 to allow the export of cluster munition technology to South Korea.
Ukraine has urged members of the U.S. Congress to pressure the Biden administration to approve the shipment of a type of cluster bomb known as Dual-Purpose Modified Conventional Munitions (DPICM).
A Pentagon spokesperson said the Biden administration is considering sending DPICMs to Ukraine, but only those with a failure rate lower than 2.35%. The U.S. military believes cluster bombs would be useful for Ukraine, but they have not yet been approved for Kyiv due to various restrictions and concerns.
Also included in the new aid package, expected to be worth $800 million, Ukraine will receive ammunition for the High Mobility Artillery Missile System (HIMARS) and ground vehicles such as Bradley fighting vehicles and Stryker armored personnel carriers.
This will be the 42nd aid package approved by the US for Ukraine since the conflict with Russia began in February 2022, totaling over $40 billion. Ukraine is also currently requesting advanced fighter jets, including F-16s, from the West as it conducts a counter-offensive.
NATO members Denmark and the Netherlands are leading a coalition of Western countries to train pilots and support personnel, maintain aircraft, and ultimately supply F-16s to Ukraine.
Bui Huy (according to Reuters, AFP, CNA)
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