MOSCOW, January 13Ukraine’s use of cluster munitions from the United States on the battlefield has become less effective, writes the New York Times.
““Even a batch of cluster munitions from the United States… has partially lost its effectiveness on the battlefield,” the publication writes.
According to the unnamed commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces platoons, previously these ammunition were used to strike large groups, but Russian forces are now conducting attacks using smaller units. The Russian military, he added, deepened the trenches, which also made it more difficult to strike them.
Cluster munitions are not equipped with self-destruct devices. According to the US military, from 5% to 14% of these ammunition may not explode at all, since they have been lying in warehouses for a long time. In this case, they will constitute mines that threaten civilians even after the conflict ends.
Even the US Congress opposed the supply of such weapons to Ukraine. President Joe Biden's Democratic Party members are preparing an amendment to the defense law that would ban the transfer of cluster munitions. According to Ilhan Omar, a member of the US House of Representatives from Minnesota, the use of these ammunition violates human rights.
In 2005, Ukraine ratified the Ottawa Convention, which prohibits the use, stockpiling and production of anti-personnel mines. Thus, Kiev is violating its international obligations.