July 7, local time
The US Department of Defense announced
Cluster munitions will be supplied to Ukraine
The United Nations said
Oppose the use of cluster munitions in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict
The United States announced a new round of military aid to Ukraine
These include cluster munitions
On July 7, U.S. National Security Adviser Sullivan said that U.S. President Joe Biden had approved the supply of cluster munitions to Ukraine.
Later that day, the U.S. Department of Defense announced a new $800 million military support plan for Ukraine, including "dual-use improved conventional munitions" for 155mm howitzers, also known as cluster munitions.
The US Department of Defense said that the date and course of supply of cluster munitions will be decided according to the defense situation in Ukraine.
The U.S. military has repeatedly used cluster munitions
It brought great disasters to the local area
Cluster munitions are highly controversial munitions, and depending on the type, a warhead can contain dozens to hundreds of explosive submunitions that can be airdropped or launched from the ground. Once fired, the submunition can cover the size of several rugby fields when the warhead explodes in the air.
More seriously, some submunitions do not explode immediately after they are fired, they are buried deep in the ground for long periods of time, and even years after the end of the conflict, if touched or stampeded, there is still a risk of explosion, which may lead to death or serious injury, posing a long-term threat to civilians.
Land contaminated by cluster munitions cannot be cultivated due to security concerns, which also hinders the economic and social development of the host countries and regions.
Benjamin, the founder of an anti-war organization in the United States, said that the consequences of this bad decision by the US government will continue the impact of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict for decades.
According to Reuters, the last time the United States used cluster munitions was in Iraq in 2003. Earlier, the United States had used such munitions in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and other countries, bringing great disasters to the region. Reuters said that between 1964 and 1973 alone, the United States dropped about 260 million cluster munitions on Laos. So far, fewer than 400,000 pieces of unexploded ordnance, or less than 0.47 per cent, have been cleared, but at least 11,000 people have been killed.
More than 120 countries have banned cluster munitions
NATO says there is no unified position
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on July 7 that NATO does not have a unified position on the Convention on Cluster Munitions, and whether or not the Convention on Cluster Munitions is signed, NATO members agree that military support should be provided to Ukraine, but the specific types of weapons and ammunition to provide should be decided by member states.
The Convention on Cluster Munitions, signed in 2008, explicitly prohibits the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of cluster munitions, and has been signed by more than 120 countries, including eight NATO member countries, including the United States.
UN: Against in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict
Use of cluster munitions
On July 7, local time, in response to a CCTV reporter's question about the approval of the United States to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, Farhan Haque, deputy spokesman of the United Nations Secretary-General, said that the United Nations Secretary-General supports the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which was adopted 15 years ago, and he hopes that countries can abide by the provisions of this convention. The UN Secretary-General does not want to continue to use cluster munitions in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
Source: CCTV Military Comprehensive CCTV-13 "Chaowen Tianxia"
Source: CCTV Military WeChat public account