LETHAL AID

Biden to Send Cluster Munitions, Banned by 120+ Countries, to Ukraine

The weapons can pose a deadly threat to civilians long after a conflict has ended.

President Joe Biden has approved sending U.S. cluster munitions to Ukraine, according to reports. The bombs are designed to explode in the air and release smaller submunitions over a large area. More than 120 countries have joined a convention banning the use of cluster munitions because of their high failure rates, leaving territories scattered with unexploded ordnance that can in turn pose a risk to civilians and friendly troops for decades after a conflict has ended. Ukraine, Russia, and the U.S. have not signed up to the convention—with Russia already accused of using cluster munitions in Ukraine. Supplying Kyiv with the weapons will also bypass a law in the U.S. preventing the production, use, or transfer of cluster munitions known to have a failure rate higher than 1 percent, according to The Washington Post. The drawdown from Defense Department stocks is reportedly due to be announced on Friday.