Will the United States take another step in the fight against the Russian invasion? The Biden administration is expected to announce a new military aid package for Ukraine this Friday. For the first time, Washington could decide to deliver cluster munitions to its ally. The news would cause a stir, as many countries have banned their use and several international organizations are warning of their dangerousness for civilian populations.
Their operation is simple: these weapons, which generally take the form of missiles or shells, explode in the air releasing “hundreds”, even “thousands” of explosive submunitions, according to a UN report. This feature has a tactical advantage: hitting larger areas than conventional ammunition.
“97%” of civilian victims according to the Red Cross
According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, “Cluster munitions have lethal consequences for civilians, killing or injuring large numbers of them, and causing lasting socio-economic problems” . Handicap International estimates that “97% of recorded victims” are civilians, “including 36% of children”.
Beyond their direct use, these shells present a “long-term danger”, since according to the Red Cross, between “10% and 40%” of projected submunitions do not explode on impact. The Pentagon, for its part, claimed a little more than 20 years ago that the M864 artillery shell, of American manufacture, had a “miss” rate of 6%. These unstable submunitions, scattered in nature, then become “as dangerous as anti-personnel mines” which can explode “sometimes decades after a conflict”, deplores Handicap International.
The use of cluster munitions is nothing new in the war between kyiv and Moscow. “The Ukrainians used it for the defense of Vuheldar (in the east of the country, near the front line)”, recalls Xavier Tytelman, defense consultant. But with a difference: the shells used by the Ukrainian army released anti-tank mines which became “unusable after 24 hours”, so as not to “contaminate the area”. “It’s as if you had a grenade exploding every square meter over a distance of 100 m”, summarizes the expert. “It won’t shoot down a tank, but it can destroy its optical system, for example. »
Very effective against trenches
A convention adopted in 2008 and entered into force in 2010 prohibits the use, production and stockpiling of cluster munitions. It also provides for the destruction of these weapons. More than a hundred countries, including France, have signed the text. But major military powers such as the United States, Russia, Israel or China have so far refused to do so.
Ukraine’s use of such controversial weapons logically raises an ethical question. But for Xavier Tytelman, if kyiv were to deprive itself of these means, it would amount to “fighting with one hand behind your back”. “We will provide them with tools that the Russians already use very widely, but against civilians. This is what differentiates them from Ukrainians”.
Will this new American military aid tip the balance a little more in favor of kyiv in its reconquest of the East? “It’s one more weapon, the fighter planes will be more decisive”, tempers Xavier Tytelman, who recognizes that shells are particularly effective in bombing trenches, very numerous along the front line.
2023-07-07 14:55:00
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