Shoigu threatened to use cluster munitions if they were delivered to Ukraine
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Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the Russian army refrains from using cluster munitions during a special operation. If the United States supplies such ammunition to Ukraine, the Russian armed forces will be forced to use similar means, the defense minister warned.
According to Mr. Shoigu, the supply of cluster munitions will affect the prolongation of the conflict. He also noted that Russia has stocks of this type of ammunition “for all occasions.” “They (cluster munitions.— ”b”) are much more efficient than American ones, their range is wider and more diverse,” the minister explained.
Sergei Shoigu also said that measures are currently being taken to protect Russian soldiers and equipment from striking elements of cluster munitions.
Bomb clusters can contain hundreds of individual munitions. They are scattered over a large area when the cassette is blown up in the air. Some of them do not explode and remain in the ground, posing a threat for a long time. In 2008, the Convention on the Prohibition of Cluster Munitions was adopted. 111 countries will join it. The Convention was not signed by the Russian Federation, Ukraine, the USA and China.
The United States announced the delivery of cluster munitions to Ukraine on July 7. The White House called it “an interim option while the U.S. ramps up production of artillery shells.” The American authorities recognize that the use of cluster shells carries risks for the civilian population, so they postponed the decision to transfer them. Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov noted that the White House ignored the position of its allies, UN Secretary General António Guterres, human rights activists, legislators and experts.
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