US cluster munitions playing key role in Ukraine offensive

The cluster munitions the U.S. provided to Ukraine amid international scrutiny are playing a key role in the counteroffensive against the Russian invasion.

Ukrainian forces have used the cluster munitions – which break up into swarms of smaller bombs before hitting their target – to break through Russian defenses such as trenches and groups of vehicles, according to the Wall Street Journal. 

The Ukrainian counteroffensive got off to a slow start as troops encountered entrenched Russian resistance. Extensive minefields also impeded the use of Western-provided tanks to dig out the invaders.

“The cluster bombs are good. They are effective,” Capt. Anatoliy Kharchenko, commander of a reconnaissance company, told WSJ. “But the Russians are dug in deep, and they learn quickly.”

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The divisive cluster munitions the U.S. provided to Ukraine are playing a key role in the country’s counteroffensive against the Russian invasion. (Getty)

When the munitions first arrived, Kharchenko says they were used on dense groups of Russian infantry, but he says Russian forces have since learned to spread out more thinly behind their fortifications.

The munitions are only the latest piece of weaponry the U.S. has delivered to Ukraine. President Biden’s administration has sent some $110 billion in security aid to the country since Russia first invaded in February 2022.

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Despite some Ukrainian progress, Russian missiles continue to rain down on the country’s major cities. Ukrainian officials on Tuesday accused the Kremlin’s forces of targeting rescue workers as the death toll from two Russian missile strikes that slammed into residential buildings climbed to seven.

Ukrainian officials on Tuesday accused the Kremlin’s forces of targeting rescue workers as the death toll from two Russian missile strikes that slammed into residential buildings climbed to seven. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP Photo)

Russian missiles, drones and artillery have repeatedly struck civilian areas throughout the war. The Kremlin claims its forces target only military assets, saying other damage is caused by debris from Ukrainian air defense weapons.

Cluster munitions were a controversial choice to send to Ukraine among many Americans as well as U.S. allies. Leaders from both the United Kingdom and Spain came out against it at the time.

“The U.K. is signatory to a convention which prohibits the production or use of cluster munitions and discourages their use,” British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in July. “We will continue to do our part to support Ukraine against Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion, but we’ve done that by providing heavy battle tanks and most recently long-range weapons, and hopefully all countries can continue to support Ukraine.”

“Spain, based on the firm commitment it has with Ukraine, also has a firm commitment that certain weapons and bombs cannot be delivered under any circumstances,” Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles said.

More than 120 countries have signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) prohibiting all use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions out of humanitarian concern. The U.S., Ukraine and Russia are not among them.

Fox News’s Danielle Wallace and The Associated Press contributed to this report.