Spain criticizes US decision to supply Kyiv with cluster bombs
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Cluster bombs should not be supplied to Ukraine, said Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles during a rally in Madrid, transmits Reuters. A day earlier, the United States announced that Kyiv would receive such munitions as part of counteroffensive assistance.
Cluster munitions, as recalled by the agency, are banned in more than 100 countries, including Spain. Russia, Ukraine and the United States have not signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which prohibits their production, stockpiling, use and transfer.
“Spain, based on its firm commitment to Ukraine, also has a firm commitment that certain weapons and bombs cannot be supplied under any circumstances,” Robles said.
She stressed that the decision to send the cluster bombs was taken by the US authorities and not by NATO, of which Spain is a member.
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 about the allocation of a new package of military assistance to Kyiv for $800 million, it will include artillery shells of 155 mm caliber, including cluster munitions.
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