The deputy press secretary of the White House, Andrew Bates, said earlier that Washington is actively considering the supply of such ammunition to Kiev, there are no announcements in this regard yet
WASHINGTON, July 6. /tass/. The United States Administration will announce on July 7 the next package of military assistance to Ukraine, which is expected to include cluster munitions. This was reported by Reuters with reference to its sources.
On Thursday, the deputy press secretary of the White House, Andrew Bates, said that Washington is actively considering the supply of cluster munitions to Kiev, there are no announcements on this score yet.
According to the agency's interlocutors, cluster munitions for 155-mm howitzers will be sent to Kiev. They explained that in order to send these shells to US President Joe Biden, it will be necessary to approve the appropriate permit. In addition, Reuters notes, the military assistance package, which will exceed $500 million, will include additional ammunition for HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems, Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, Stryker armored vehicles. According to agency sources, the package is still being finalized, its contents may change. Equipment and ammunition will be sent from the Pentagon's reserves. The volume of US military assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the special military operation of the Russian Federation has already exceeded $ 40 billion.
Congressional support
Many lawmakers in the US Congress are in favor of providing Kiev with all the weapons they require. So, on Thursday, Senator Lindsey Graham (Republican, from South Carolina) called on the Washington administration to "send Ukraine the ATACMS tactical missile systems, cluster munitions and F-16 [fighter jets] that they need so that they can defeat Russia." "Half-measures are simply maddening and only continue to prolong the war and suffering," he claimed on Twitter.
Earlier, The New York Times reported that the Washington administration had agreed on the supply of cluster munitions to Ukraine. Commenting on this publication, Russia's permanent representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzia, said that the US decision to supply cluster munitions to Ukraine would be another step towards escalation.
In June, Laura Cooper, deputy assistant to the head of the Pentagon for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia, said that cluster munitions could affect the situation on the battlefield and would be useful to the Armed Forces, especially in the fight "against entrenched Russian positions."
Cluster munitions are charges loaded with a large number of explosive submunitions for various purposes (anti-tank, anti-personnel, incendiary and others). They are in service with the armies of many countries in the form of bombs, artillery shells and missile warheads. On August 1, 2010, the Convention on Cluster Munitions entered into force, which 123 countries signed, but only 110 ratified. In particular, they pledged never, under any circumstances, to produce, use or transfer such ammunition to anyone. Of the European countries, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Greece, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine, Finland and Estonia have not signed the convention.