Just before the annual meeting, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the summit “will send a clear message: NATO is united and Russian aggression will not make it”. But as soon as his words were cold, unity within NATO was put to the test.
The US announced on the same day that it will supply 155mm cluster munitions to Ukraine. More than two-thirds of NATO member states have signed a ban on cluster munitions. Belgium also approved the Oslo treaty in 2008 and will join the resistance of Spain and the United Kingdom against the supply to Ukraine.
“Cluster munitions do not distinguish between civilians and military targets and that is why we call on both parties not to use cluster munitions,” said Prime Minister De Croo’s (Open Vld) spokesman. “Our first goal should be to stop Russian use of cluster munitions, rather than sending such munitions to Ukraine ourselves.”
The 155mm cluster grenades the Americans will supply contain dozens of smaller grenades that disperse projectiles when detonated. Ukraine could thus damage advancing Russian fortifications just behind the front, which are located in open areas.
The problem with cluster munitions is that there are always components that detonate much later. This way they can still make innocent civilian victims years after the conflict. Human rights organization Human Rights Watch has already established this many times in Ukraine. The Americans boast that their 155mm shells have a low failure rate of 2.35 percent, compared to over 30 percent for Russian cluster munitions.
“These are only test values, but let’s not be naive: every munitions has a percentage that does not explode,” says Tom Simoens, military historian at the Royal Military School.
To allay concerns, Ukraine is giving guarantees about the use of those cluster grenades. The country commits not to use them in Russia or in cities, and to immediately clear liberated areas of unexploded ordnance.
Earlier, the deliveries of tanks and fighter planes also caused tensions in the alliance, but there was no legal side to this. The treaty against cluster munitions forces signatories to oppose it. “I cannot imagine that cluster munitions are allowed to pass through the port of Antwerp,” says Simoens.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister De Croo will travel to Vilnius for the summit, together with Minister of Defense Dedonder (PS) and Minister of Foreign Affairs Lahbib (MR). Finland will participate for the first time as a NATO member at the summit, which should also help Sweden’s accession. This NATO summit also wants to take further steps towards Ukraine’s future accession to the alliance.
