Sending cluster bombs to Ukraine, the US admits war crimes
(Baonghean.vn) - The Russian Embassy said that the US actually admitted to committing war crimes in Ukraine.
The Russian Embassy in the US, Anatoly Antonov, said that after agreeing to send cluster bombs to Kiev, Washington admitted to committing war crimes in Ukraine.
According to Ambassador Antonov, the coordinator for strategic communications at the US National Security Council, John Kirby, although defending President Joe Biden's decision, also said that this controversial shipment was to "compensate" for the US not providing enough ammunition to the Ukrainian army.
“We draw attention to the statement of the National Security Council’s director of strategic communications, John Kirby, on the supply of cluster bombs to Ukraine. This official practically admitted that the United States committed war crimes during the conflict in Ukraine. He openly stated that civilians would die from American cluster bombs,” the Russian Embassy in the United States said.
On July 7, the Pentagon announced a new military aid package for Ukraine that, for the first time, included 155mm artillery shells, a type of cluster munition banned under an international convention that 123 countries have ratified. However, the United States and Ukraine are not among them.
The New York Times (USA) describes a cluster bomb, cluster munition as a bomb containing dozens to hundreds of smaller bombs (also known as sub-bombs) inside. The bomb will explode at a determined altitude and this depends on the targeted area and the sub-bombs will explode around that target.
These cluster bombs can be dropped from aircraft, launched from missiles or fired from artillery, naval guns or rocket launchers. The bomblets can destroy enemy tanks, military equipment and personnel and attack multiple targets at once.
In an interview with CNN on July 9, US President Joe Biden affirmed that Ukraine was running out of ammunition, and that the US sending cluster bombs to Ukraine, a weapon that can kill many civilians, was a "very difficult" decision.
However, Washington said it had received assurances from Ukraine. Kiev pledged to reduce the risk to civilians and not use cluster bombs in densely populated areas.
