The US has opened a new page in its arms support to Ukraine: Cluster Munitions

US Sends Cluster Munitions to Ukraine

In addition to political and economic aid, the West's direct arms support, which it did not hesitate to provide directly, paved the way for the Ukrainian people and army to display a high level of resistance on the front line against the Russian occupying forces. In this way, the Russian army was stopped and even some parts of Ukrainian territory were taken back from the Russians. Nowadays, while there are discussions on the Russian side about a post-Wagner "civil unrest", the issue of securing the Suwalki Corridor from the Russian side is currently occupying the agenda. A freight train departing from Russia can reach Kaliningrad by travelling through Belarus and Lithuania using this strategic corridor. Having declared at the NATO Summit in Vilnius that they will continue their policy of full support to Ukraine, the allies continue to seek to increase their arms support to Ukraine. In this context, due to the known problems in the production of artillery ammunition, cluster or cluster bombs have recently started to be discussed as a new item. According to some reports, cluster bombs given to the Ukrainian Army by the USA have started to be used against Russian forces.

It was rumoured that a major offensive would be launched by the Ukrainian Army against the Russian Army in the spring, but this expectation has turned out to be empty for now. Because there are well fortified Russian positions on the Russian side against the Ukrainian Army. It does not seem that easy to break through the Russian front. Beating the front line with artillery fire also does not seem that easy due to the beginning of the ammunition shortage. Ukraine has not yet been able to acquire a serious bombardment capability from the air. It is also unlikely that serious air strikes will be possible in the near future. 

The US wants to relieve Ukraine's hand on the front line. In this sense, cluster bombs have recently come to the fore. The Biden administration decided to send dual-purpose improved conventional munitions (DPICMs) to Ukraine as part of the new aid package. The cluster munitions will leave no stone unturned in the Russian trenches, or at least that is the expectation. 

In the meantime, Washington's decision to send cluster bombs, or technically DPICMs, has brought this bomb, which is banned by 123 countries, back into the debate. Even the UK and Canada, which, like the US, do not hesitate to provide arms aid to Ukraine, criticised the Biden Administration's decision to send cluster bombs. It caused a series of diplomatic reactions from countries that have long been Washington's allies and security partners. 

What are Cluster Munitions?

Cluster munitions are a method in which, when a rocket, missile, bomb or artillery shell hits a target, a large number of small bomblets are released from the ammunition by means of a device in the ammunition, causing a large number of explosions and pollution in a very large area. This type of ammunition is intended to explode on impact with the target. Depending on the fuses used in the bomblets, some bomblets are not "detonated" at first. These grenades, which explode late, especially on wet and soft ground, have a "mine" effect when enemy personnel or vehicles pass through this area. When enemy soldiers pick them up or step on them, they explode, killing or maiming the victim.

Cluster bombs, also called cluster bombs, cover a wide area. Depending on the type of warhead of the cluster munition used, armour-piercing warheads (similar to MK-20) can be used against hard targets (tanks, armoured personnel carriers, etc.), normal warheads used in CBU-58 type bombs against soft targets (personnel assembly and resting areas) or both warheads can be used against mixed targets (gun emplacements, SAM emplacements, etc.). In military use, cluster bombs, which provide serious advantages to the attacking side, can be extremely effective when used against ground troops dug in trenches and fortified positions, and can make the use of large areas by the enemy very dangerous until they are carefully cleared. Technically, a single bomb can be used to drop hundreds of small bombs over an area the size of several football fields.

2008 Convention on the Prohibition of Cluster Munitions

The use of this bomb, especially within the scope of 'mines', even if the war ends in that region, may cause 'sleeping bombs' to remain behind, and the people who will live there later may be injured and lose their lives if they unknowingly come into contact with the bombs even in times of peace, and in this respect, the use of cluster bombs is not desired by many. As a former soldier, I should also state that I do not find it right to use cluster bombs, which cause death and injuries even decades after they are fired. As a result, 123 countries have banned the use of cluster munitions for these reasons. The use of these bombs is considered by the signatory countries as a crime against humanity. It was partly Israel's use of cluster munitions in the 2006 Lebanon war that prompted states to draft the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), which prohibits the use, transfer, production and stockpiling of cluster munitions. 

By the way, let us also say this. The Russians are not clean on the use of cluster munitions either. There are numerous examples of Russian war crimes using cluster munitions against civilian targets in Syria, and many documenting the destruction of human life caused by these indiscriminate bombs. Russia also allegedly used cluster munitions extensively during its attempted invasion of Ukraine. At the same time, the indiscriminate use of these indiscriminate weapons on civilian targets was repeatedly filmed.

I believe that Putin's past use of cluster munitions does not justify Biden's decision to use cluster munitions. US President Joe Biden admits that sending DPICMs, also known as cluster munitions, to Kiev was a "very difficult decision". But he nevertheless continues to defend the decision to aid cluster munitions: "This is a war about ammunition. They are running out of ammunition and we are running out of ammunition."

Whether on the Russian or Ukrainian side, the use of cluster munitions constitutes a war crime under international law. The United States may not have committed a crime when it gave these weapons to Ukraine because it did not 'use' them, but it is not lost on anyone that Washington is indirectly committing crimes against humanity. I believe that in the future, humanity will not only blame Kiev, but will also continue to blame the American side, albeit perhaps weakly. The US and Ukraine together ignore the CCM. The use and proliferation of cluster munitions, not only in the Russian-Ukrainian war but in all regional conflicts in the near future, has been 'legitimised' by a joint Washington-Kiev decision. Now the Russians will do the same to the Ukrainians by using cluster bombs. In my opinion, this is not a risk that can be taken.

Conclusion

Some might say that this is a war. Kiev has to use these weapons under harsh and extremely tragic circumstances. They may consider the use of cluster munitions both militarily necessary and morally justified. They could even cite examples of far more deadly and destructive weapons used in conflicts around the world that are not prohibited by international conventions. In this sense, for example, the Russian "bunker buster" KAB-1500L-Pr and the US-made GBU-43/B MOAB used in Afghanistan, the so-called mother of all bombs. Compared to these bombs, cluster bombs are nothing. However, these gigantic bombs are detonated where they fall. There is no risk of mines. This is the biggest difference between the tiny cluster bombs and these gigantic bombs.

Therefore, the question of which bomb caused the greater crime against humanity would lead us to open other doors, but this is not the subject of this article. Ultimately, the argument that cluster bombs are a necessity is a very controversial issue. Even the concept of 'just war' does not have a fully accepted definition. Now, it is perhaps not my place to say anything to those who see the use of cluster munitions against the occupying Russian forces as a necessity, or at least not to accuse the Ukrainians, whose territory is under occupation, for using cluster munitions. However, there will be some of these cluster bombs that are thrown into the front line and remain unexploded, like a mine buried in the ground. What about the protection of the right to life of the little child who will accidentally step on them while playing ball here decades later? I ask you, will this be of no importance for those who decide to use cluster bombs today?