Biden administration The decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine to fight russian invasion It reflects both the challenges Kiev and its Western allies face in a prolonged war, and America’s readiness to escalate it to push back the Russians. cluster munitions are designed to explode on impact, but many remain “useless”, which can explode afterwards, causing indiscriminate damage – which is why over 100 countries have banned them . Although the US is not a signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, it has recently criticized Russia for equating the use of these weapons in the conflict with war crimes. But the U.S. U-turn on Ukraine as part of its 42nd aid package after the start of the Russian invasion points to the tensions Ukraine faces on the battlefield. In a war dominated by artillery, Ukraine is completely dependent on the West for weapons including artillery shells and ammunition, while Russia’s industrial base has grown, ensuring an uninterrupted supply of weapons to the front line . Conventional warfare has put pressure on Western reserves, putting Ukraine at a disadvantage compared to Russia’s artillery superiority.
Before Ukraine launched its counteroffensive a few weeks ago, the Western reckoning was that a swift victory on the battlefield by Ukraine, like the lightning counterattacks in Kharkiv and Kherson last year, would change the dynamics and propel Russian President Vladimir Putin Will put him under pressure. But over the past few months, the Russians have built strong defense fortifications along more than 1,000 km of the border line from Kherson in the south to the outskirts of Kharkiv in the north-east, which have made it extremely difficult for Ukrainians to breach. Ukraine has made some minor territorial gains in the southeast, but at a heavy cost, and has been far from achieving its perceived success of separating Russian-controlled Donbass in the east from Crimea in the south, by cutting Mr. Putin’s landbridge in Zaporizhia. is far. It is the reality of the battlefield that prompted the US to make what President Biden called a “difficult decision” to send cluster munitions. However, this would still lead to criticism. The alleged war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine are well documented and condemned internationally. Kiev is also being accused of targeting civilian centers in Donbass. But there is no doubt that the US has tried to draw a moral and ethical line by saying that it is helping Ukraine defend itself. This line is blurred by the decision to send civilian killers to the battlefield. It also shows that neither side is yet ready to compromise, regardless of their position on the battlefield, as the war is still escalating after 16 months of fighting.