The administration of the US President Joe Biden may soon approve the provision of cluster munitions to Ukraine.
CNN was told by several people familiar with the matter.
The final decision of the White House is expected in the near future. If approved, the ammunition will be included in next monthʼs new military aid package.
Previously, the US did not want to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions because of the risks to civilians. Also, in some countries — key allies, in particular Great Britain, France and Germany, cluster munitions are prohibited.
But for now, administration representatives believe that they have managed to alleviate the concerns of partners regarding the transfer of these ammunitions to Ukraine.
- In 2008, at an international conference in Dublin, an agreement was reached to ban the production, use and stockpiling of cluster munitions. 123 countries joined the agreement. The USA, Russia and Ukraine refused to join. In 2009, the USA passed a law that prohibits the export of cluster munitions with a failure rate of bombs higher than 1%. Joe Biden can overturn this ban.
- In January 2023, Foreign Policy wrote that Turkey supplies Ukraine with American-made cluster munitions during the Cold War.
- In March, the Reuters agency wrote that Ukraine asked the US for cluster munitions to be dropped from drones.