US considers supplying cluster munitions to Ukraine

Courtney Kube, in an article for NBC News, says that the US is leaning towards supplying cluster munitions to Ukraine, with an announcement expected as early as next month, as stated by two senior US officials. Additionally, there are considerations to provide dual-purpose improved conventional munitions (DPICMs) to Ukraine, according to a third US official, although no specific timeline for an announcement has been given.

DPICMs are surface-to-surface warheads designed to explode and scatter multiple small munitions or bombs over wide areas, causing more widespread destruction than single rounds. They can function as shape charges to penetrate armored vehicles or fragment into dangerous and deadly projectiles for personnel. The use of cluster munitions has been met with opposition from certain human rights groups due to concerns about the risk of unexploded bomblets causing harm to civilians long after the battle has ended.

Ukraine has been requesting DPICMs from the US since last year. However, the proposal has faced opposition due to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, an international treaty that prohibits the transfer, use, and stockpiling of such weapons. While the US, Ukraine, and Russia are not signatories to the treaty, over 100 countries, including several US allies, have joined its provisions.

During the Cold War, the US developed cluster munitions and subsequently stockpiled a significant quantity of them, many of which are now approaching their expiration dates. Recently, a bipartisan group of members of Congress penned a letter urging the Biden administration to supply Ukraine with this surplus arsenal. DPICMs can be launched from artillery systems that the US has already provided to Ukraine.

According to NBC News, Rep. Jason Crow, a Democratic member of the Armed Services Committee, sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, inquiring about specific details regarding DPICM dud rates and the available variants within the US stockpile that could potentially be sent to Ukraine.

“As you know, the United States has placed restrictions on the use of cluster munitions as a matter of both law and policy. I believe that any change in policy requires public discourse, and more public information is required to achieve that,” Crow wrote in the letter.