On the eve of NATO summit, US tries to calm its critics over sending cluster munitions to Ukraine

In Washington officials are reacting strongly to suggestions that the decision to supply cluster munitions to Ukraine is an erosion of America's moral high ground or that it shows that the war is not going well for Ukraine, writes Mark Stone for the Sky News. 

For example, Congressman Adam Smith told him: "Well, forgive me for being so blunt about this, but no, it does not erode the moral high ground. The only way it erodes the moral high ground is if either you're an idiot, or you're rooting for Russia in this conflict. When you look at what Russia is doing in Ukraine, when you look at the way they are still indiscriminately bombing civilian populations, knocking out hospitals and schools and shopping malls and apartment buildings all across the country, without a single military objective in mind, spraying ordnance all across the country, killing people, torturing people. What Ukraine is doing is trying to retake their country and no weapon of war is peaceful." 

Regarding the other point, that the decision to send cluster munitions is a signal that the war is not going well, the arguments are more nuanced.

The Ukrainian counteroffensive has not achieved the expected success, and their ammunition reserves are critically low. However, it does not imply that Russia has the upper hand or that they are faring better than Ukraine. Both sides are entrenched and difficult to dislodge, with Russia having the advantages of time and personnel. 

Therefore, the United States contends that deploying a specific type of cluster munitions, fired from artillery pieces rather than dropped from planes, is necessary. These munitions address the supply problem and can significantly impact the conflict's result.  Ukraine intends to employ them against dug-in Russian forces in the eastern battlefields, and their use is expected to have a tangible effect.

The Americans cite their cluster munitions' low "dud rate" of about +/-2% for DPICM (dual-purpose improvised conventional munition). This rate compares favorably to the +/-30% dud rate of NATO cluster munitions used in the 1990s war in Yugoslavia and the dud rate of the cluster bombs currently used by Russia on civilian targets in Ukraine.

Predictably, other NATO countries express concerns about the US decision, as they are bound by the 2008 convention that prohibits the use of all cluster munitions. However, the underlying sentiment conveyed by the UK, Germany, Canada, New Zealand, and others is that while they would prefer the absence of cluster munitions on the battlefield, they recognize their necessity, acknowledge their low dud rate, and hope for a failure of Russia's efforts.