The Foreign Ministry called the decision to supply cluster munitions to Ukraine a “gesture of desperation”

The decision of the administration of US President Joe Biden to supply Ukraine with cluster munitions is another blatant manifestation of Washington’s aggressive anti-Russian course, which is aimed at dragging out the conflict and the war to the “last Ukrainian,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. Her comment published on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Zakharova called the decision of the US authorities announced a day earlier “a cynical attempt to prolong the agony of the current Ukrainian authorities.” In her opinion, Washington is aware that the promises of the Ukrainian leadership to use these weapons carefully and responsibly “are worthless”, and as a result, civilians will be under attack. The supply of such weapons will make the United States an accomplice in the mining of the territory and “will fully share the responsibility for those who died from explosions, including Russian and Ukrainian children,” the ministry added.

“The transfer of cluster munitions is a gesture of desperation and evidence of impotence against the backdrop of the failure of the much-hyped Ukrainian “counteroffensive,” Zakharova said, emphasizing that these weapons “will not affect in any way” the course of the special operation, and its goals and objectives will be fully achieved.

On July 7, National Security Adviser to the President of the United States, Jake Sullivan, during a briefing, announced that the United States would send cluster munitions to Ukraine. He acknowledged that the use of cluster munitions posed a threat to the lives of civilians, but, Sullivan said, Ukraine provided the United States with written assurances that the munitions would be used “with care” to avoid civilian casualties. On the same day, the Pentagon announced a new $800 million military aid package for Kyiv that would include 155mm artillery shells, including cluster munitions.

Cluster munitions are banned in over 100 countries. Russia, Ukraine and the US have not signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions. The ratifiers of the international treaty pledged “never and under no circumstances” to use cluster munitions, not to manufacture or acquire them, and not to stockpile, retain or transfer to anyone, directly or indirectly.