Ukrainian forces began using cluster munitions on the front lines: WH
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The US National Security Council spokesman claims the bombs are "having an impact on Russia’s defensive formations."
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Ukrainian troops fire a 2S7 Pion artillery system at Russian positions on December 5, 2022 (AFP)
Ukraine began using cluster bombs supplied by the United States in its targeting of Russian forces at the front lines "in the last week or so," National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby said in a briefing on Thursday.
The US announced earlier this month that it will provide Kiev with cluster munitions to "assist" Ukrainian forces on the battlefield as the counteroffensive failed so far to reach expectations.
Read more: A Grim Reaper that will outlast the Ukraine war: Cluster munitions
Washington's decision has been widely criticized by human rights activists, some US lawmakers, and even former top officials in the United States Army, Pentagon, and NATO.
"They're using them appropriately, they're using them effectively and they are actually having an impact on Russia’s defensive formations and Russia’s defensive maneuvering," Kirby claimed.
Cluster munitions, which disperse up to hundreds of small explosive charges, are banned by over 100 countries, including European signatories to the 2008 Oslo Convention and NATO members that are fully engaged in the conflict.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier this week that Russia has not yet used cluster munitions, adding that if such weaponry is used against Russian forces; Moscow reserves the right to respond in kind.
The Russian leader also criticized the use of indiscriminate bombs, stating that it should be considered a crime, referring to a previous public statement made by the US administration itself.
But a number of former senior officials and military veterans argued that Washington has a hidden agenda in sending the munitions to Kiev, despite publicly claiming that it is intended to aid Ukrainian forces on the frontlines.
Former Pentagon analyst and Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, Karen Kwiatkowski, stated that the United States Defense Department is eager to unload the bombs in question due to their ban in many countries, adding that the Department's interest lies in clearing old inventory to make way for more profitable weapons.
Washington's "interest seems to be in getting rid of stockpiled munitions, and these cluster bombs are honestly difficult to get rid of for-profit as so many nations have banned them," Kwiatkowski said while criticizing the double standards in Western media's portrayal of cluster bomb usage.
"This US decision and NATO's flaccid acceptance of it, contrary to the policies of many NATO member states, serves as the latest example of extreme hypocrisy, and it is being observed and understood for exactly that by all of Europe, as well as the rest of the world," he concluded.
The new pro-war psyops campaign that Biden's administration launched to justify supporting the "democratic" government in Kiev to using undemocratic methods to achieve Western goals has raised many concerns: what is the next red line the United States will cross to prolong the war, and to what extent?
