What Is 'Cluster Munition' The US Is Sending To Ukraine As It Struggles Against The Dug-In Russian Army

The United States government is planning to send 'cluster munitions' to Ukraine to help it uproot the dug-in Russian Army in its faltering counter offensive in the southeastern part of Ukraine.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Joe Biden Administration is planning to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, and will make a decision today (Friday).

Cluster munitions are weapons that consist of a container or dispenser that releases multiple smaller explosive sub-munitions or bomblets over a wide area.

These bomblets are designed to explode upon impact or after a set time, and their purpose is to target and neutralise enemy personnel, vehicles, or structures.

The US has, under a law passed in 2009 by the Barack kObama Administration, banned the exports of these cluster munitions, due to their effects on civilians long after the war.

Unexploded sub-munitions of cluster bombs pose a threat, as they can maim or kill civilians, long after a conflict has ended.

Cluster munitions are also banned by an international treaty — Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) — prohibiting use, import and exports of these bombs.

More than 110 countries are signatories to CCM. However, 40 countries like the US, Russia, China, India, Pakistan, South Korea and most countries from the Middle East have not signed the treaty.

The US hopes that the use of these munitions by Ukrainian forces against the trenches line of the Russians, which the Ukrainians have reportedly tried to unsuccessfully assault for more than a month with no result whatsoever, will force the Russians to abandon these fortifications.

Critics of this move of the US administration claim that the Ukrainian forces even after trying for more than a month have not even reached the first line of Russian defence.

The WSJ report also claims that cluster munitions will help reduce the Ukrainian dependence of 155mm artillery ammunitions, which is in short supply.

India Also Operates Cluster Munitions

India also operates cluster munitions imported from the US. India imported 512 CBU-105 sensor fused weapons (SFW) worth $257 million in 2010, from the US.

The CBU-105 is different from dumb cluster munitions in the way that each submunition is installed with an infrared sensor which guides it to the target.

Indian Air Force uses this bomb for anti-tank and anti-armour roles and is meant to be launched using Jaguar fighter bombers in the IAF's inventory.