The coordinator for strategic Communications at the National Security Council of the department, John Kirby, said that they were delivered to Kiev about a week ago
WASHINGTON, July 20. /tass/. Ukraine has been using cluster munitions supplied by the United States for about the last seven days. This was stated on Thursday at a briefing for journalists by the coordinator for strategic communications at the National Security Council (NSC) of the White House, John Kirby.
He answered in the affirmative to the question of whether the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) have already started using cluster munitions supplied by Washington. "We got them there as quickly as possible," Kirby said. "But it is certainly up to them [the Ukrainian side] to tell them exactly how and when they handed them over to the military on the front line." "I would say it happened about a week ago. To be honest, I can't specify the day," the NSC employee added.
"We have indeed received initial feedback from Ukrainians. And they use them [cluster munitions] quite effectively. <...> I would only say that they use them appropriately," Kirby argued.
As The Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing Ukrainian officials, the Ukrainian Armed Forces began using cluster munitions supplied by the United States in the southeastern sector of the front in an attempt to break through well-fortified Russian positions.
Assistant to the US President for National Security Jake Sullivan said on July 7 that his country had decided to transfer cluster munitions to Ukraine, the use of which is opposed by the UN. On July 13, the head of the operational directorate of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Armed Forces, General Douglas Sims, announced that the AFU had received cluster munitions from the US.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier that the Russian Federation reserves the right to use cluster munitions in response to their use by Ukraine. According to him, the supply of such weapons and their use should be considered a crime.
