The US may supply cluster munitions to Ukraine, with an announcement expected next month, as per senior US officials.
A third official from the United States has stated that the country is contemplating the provision of dual-purpose improved conventional munitions (DPICMs) to Ukraine. However, no specific timeline for an announcement was disclosed.
Ukraine Request for DPICMs from the United States
DPICMs are warheads launched from the surface to target an area, dispersing numerous small munitions or bombs over a wide region, causing extensive destruction compared to a single round. These rounds possess the ability to function as shaped charges, penetrating armored vehicles, or they can break apart or fragment to increase their lethality against personnel.
Certain human rights organizations oppose their use due to concerns regarding the potential detonation of unexploded bomblets, or duds, following a conflict, which could lead to harm or casualties among innocent civilians.
Ukraine has been requesting DPICMs from the United States since last year. However, resistance has been encountered because of an international treaty known as the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which prohibits the transfer, use, and stockpiling of such weapons.
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U.S. Policy Restrictions on Cluster Munitions
While the United States, Ukraine, and Russia are not signatories to the treaty, over 100 countries, including many U.S. allies, have ratified it.
During the Cold War, the United States developed cluster munitions and accumulated a significant stockpile of them, with many now reaching the end of their operational lifespan. Recently, a group of lawmakers from both political parties in Congress wrote a letter to the Biden administration, advocating for the deployment of the extensive, unused stockpile to Ukraine.
DPICMs can be fired from artillery systems that the United States has already provided to Ukraine.
Representative Jason Crow, a Democrat from Colorado and a member of the House Armed Services Committee addressed a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday, seeking specific information such as DPICM dud rates and the types available in the U.S. stockpile that could be supplied to Ukraine.
“As you are aware, the United States has imposed restrictions on the use of cluster munitions in accordance with both legal requirements and policy,” wrote Representative Crow. “I believe that any policy change necessitates public discourse, and greater public information is necessary to facilitate that.”
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