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US cluster munitions deliveries will not change situation for Ukraine — expert

On July 7, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that the United States had decided to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, despite the fact that the United Nations opposed the use of such munitions

MOSCOW, July 11. /TASS/. Deliveries of cluster munitions from the US to Ukraine would not improve the situation for Kiev, but rather increase potential risks for the civilian population, Director of the HSE Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies Vasily Kashin told TASS.

Kashin emphasized that Ukraine "is already using Soviet-made cluster munitions it had."

"If the use of cluster munitions increases, this may introduce additional risks for the civilian population, including the possibility that the battleground will be littered with a large number of unexploded parts of cluster munitions. However, it is unclear that it would result in any meaningful positive developments for Ukraine in the foreseeable future. It will just enhance the humanitarian cost of the conflict," he said. The expert believes that the mounting concerns will be taken into account in future Russian efforts.

On July 7, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that the United States had decided to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, despite the fact that the United Nations opposed the use of such munitions. He also said that Kiev had issued written assurances to Washington that those weapons would be used in a way so as to minimize risks to civilians. Pentagon Spokesman Patrick Ryder said on Thursday that the United States was poised to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions that posed the least risk to civilians.

Deputy Spokesperson for the UN Secretary General Farhan Haq said earlier, commenting on media reports about the US’ plans to supply such munitions to Ukraine, that UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres supports the Convention on Cluster Munitions and is against the use of such weapons on the battlefield.