White House says Ukraine needs cluster munitions to defend itself against Russian advance

The White House on Friday said Russia has been using cluster munitions since the start of the war and Ukraine must fight fire with fire to thwart Vladimir Putin’s troops, setting the stage for the U.S. to send Kyiv the weaponry.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan said territory in Ukraine must be de-mined anyway, and Russia’s ability to advance and gain more territory is far more dangerous than Ukraine’s use of U.S.-provided cluster munitions.

“We will not leave Ukraine defenseless at any point in this conflict, period,” Mr. Sullivan said.

The Pentagon is expected to announce the inclusion of cluster munitions in the next aid package.

Cluster munitions are artillery or missile-delivered weapons designed to burst into submunitions mid-flight to allow dense area coverage. They can scatter both shaped charges for anti-armor missions and fragmentation rounds in an anti-personnel role.

The use of cluster munitions is contentious because civilians can be exposed to unexploded ordnance. In providing them, President Biden is courting criticism from Western allies.

SEE ALSO: Ukraine’s gamble in Bakhmut paid off, fueled Putin-Prigozhin feud: Former CIA officer

Mr. Sullivan said it was a “difficult decision.”

“We have been looking at this for some time. We did not immediately come out of the gate and provide this,” Mr. Sullivan said. “It’s a decision we deferred and required a real hard look at the potential harm to civilians.”

Mr. Biden hopes the weaponry will help Kyiv with its weekslong counteroffensive. Ukrainian troops have made slow but steady progress on the battlefield. Their troops have come up against a dense tangle of Russian obstacles on the front line, including trenches and minefields.

The administration is moving to provide the munitions days before Mr. Biden heads overseas next week for a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Mr. Biden’s decision won support from Sen. Tom Cotton, Arkansas Republican.

“For Ukrainian forces to defeat Putin’s invasion, Ukraine needs at least equal access to the weapons Russia already uses against them, like cluster munitions,” Mr. Cotton said. “Providing this new capability is the right decision — even if it took too long — and is one I’ve long supported.”

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said the alliance will not take a position on whether the Biden administration should provide cluster bomb munitions to Ukraine as part of a security assistance package.

“Russia used cluster munitions in their brutal war of aggression to invade another country while Ukraine is using [them] to defend itself,” Mr. Stoltenberg said. “The best way to end this brutal war is for President [Vladimir] Putin and Russia to stop attacking another country.”