US Provided Cluster Munitions To Be “Cased” in 155m Artillery Shells

by Maya Carlin, Warrior Contributor, Weapons

Cluster munitions recently made headlines when U.S. President Joe Biden revealed his administration’s intent to provide these controversial weapons to Ukraine last week. Yesterday, these weapons reportedly arrived in Kyiv to support the country’s counter-offensive efforts.

When U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan announced this plan, he explained that these munitions would be encased in 155mm artillery shells as part of the latest American aid package worth roughly $800 million.

Cluster bombs have been banned by more than 120 countries for the danger they pose to civilians in the long-run, which is why human rights groups have condemned the White House’s decision.

Cluster munitions are a type of ground-launched or air-launched explosive weapon that carries hundreds of smaller submunitions (bomblets). Since these types of bombs can release submunitions in a wider area, they pose a risk because they can erupt at various times. If Russia’s invasion of Ukraine ended tomorrow, for instance, unexploded submunitions could go still go off and kill or injure civilians. For this reason, cluster bombs can almost be looked at in the same way as landmines.

These explosive weapons are concealed on the ground and designed to destroy enemy targets that are nearby. Landmines can be lethal to vehicles, tanks, combatants and even civilians.

The use of landmines in the ongoing invasion

Since the outbreak of the invasion back in February 2022, Russia has contaminated perhaps more than 30% of Ukraine with deadly minefields. According to some experts, more than 65,000 square miles in Ukraine is riddled with unexploded ordnance, making the invasion the largest deployment of such mines since the Second World War. Russian forces have more recently deployed landmines to hinder Ukraine’s counteroffensive efforts and to defend their own positions.