United States Defending Decision To Send Controversial Cluster Bombs To Ukraine

The United States is defending a decision to send controversial cluster bombs to Ukraine.

US President Joe Biden has called it a “difficult decision” but says he had to act, as “the Ukrainians are running out of ammunition”.

The explosives – banned in more than 100 countries – can pose a high risk to civilians, as they don’t always detonate on impact.

But former British army officer, Major General Rupert Jones, believes the use of cluster bombs is justified:

“They’ve got a bad reputation of course. The munitions the Americans are going to provide have a much lower, what people call, ‘Dud Rate’ – the Americans say about 2.5%. The reality is, after the war, the conflict zone is going to be uninhabitable for a very significant period of time”.