Russian President, Vladimir Putin has warned Ukraine against using cluster weapons against Russian forces saying his country has a stockpile of cluster munitions and will consider using them against Ukraine “if they are used against us,”
The US' decision to send cluster bombs to
Kyiv was controversial and criticized by human rights groups.
The weapons are dangerous to civilians and
non-combatants when fired near populated areas because they scatter explosive
material, so-called “bomblets,” across large areas. Those that fail to explode
on impact can detonate years later, posing a long-term risk to anyone who
encounters them, similar to landmines.
Cluster munitions contain multiple explosives
that are released over an area up to the size of several football fields. They
can be dropped from a plane or launched from the ground or sea.
Putin warns Ukraine not to use new US
delivered cluster bombs against Russian forces
They are designed to explode on impact but as
many as a third don’t, and remain a deadly risk to civilians for years to come
Putin’s comments come just days after Ukraine
received a delivery of American-made cluster munitions.
“Russia has a sufficient supply of various
types of cluster munitions,” the Russian leader said during an interview with a
pro-Kremlin journalist on Sunday, July 16.
“If they are used against us, we reserve the
right to mirror actions.”
The danger posed by cluster weapons has prompted
more than 100 countries including the United Kingdom, France and Germany to
sign a treaty prohibiting their use.
US President Joe Biden, said last week that
the decision whether to send cluster munitions to Ukraine was “very difficult,”
but he opted to do so because Kyiv needs more ammunition to continue its fight
to push Russian troops out of Ukrainian territory.
In his interview, Putin said that the Biden
administration had called the use of cluster munitions a war crime and that he
agreed with that assessment.
Putin also claimed that Russia has not yet
used cluster munitions, despite evidence by the United Nations showing that
Russian forces had used cluster munitions in populated areas at least 24 times.
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