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July 7 () –
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, has assured that the commitment to send cluster bombs to Ukraine was a “difficult decision” but necessary, since the Ukrainian forces “are running out of ammunition” and the weapons announced this Friday work as “transition”, to gain time until new artillery shells are obtained.
“It was a very difficult decision for me. I discussed it with our allies, with our friends in Congress,” Biden explained in an interview for , shortly after various departments of his Administration announced what they had been anticipating for days. some media, despite the misgivings expressed by organizations defending Human Rights and the United Nations.
The cluster munitions promised by Washington are compatible with the 155-mm projectile launchers that Ukraine already has, something that Biden wanted to influence to talk about what he has described as a “transition period.” In this sense, he has indicated that it is not a “permanent” commitment, but until another type of artillery projectiles is obtained that can be used by the Ukrainian forces.
The Convention on Cluster Munitions, an international treaty signed by more than a hundred countries, advocates prohibiting this model of weapons due to its indiscriminate impact on the civilian population. “We are not signatories to this agreement, but it took me a while to convince myself to do it,” explained the US president, who said he was following the “recommendation” set by the Defense Department.
“The main thing is to see if (the Ukrainians) have the weapons to stop the Russians now (…) or not. And I think they need them,” he added, in line with the arguments expressed in recent hours by different voices of the administration.
Biden has taken this controversial step before heading to Europe, for a tour of several countries that will be marked to a large extent by the Ukrainian context and that will have the NATO leaders’ summit in Lithuania as a major event.
