US says Ukraine’s use of cluster bombs against Russia ‘effective’

A spokesperson for national security at the White House claims that controversial US bombs were deployed against Russian military sites.

According to a senior Washington military official, controversial cluster bombs provided by the United States are being deployed "effectively" by Ukrainian forces in their counteroffensive against Russia's invasion.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Thursday, "We have gotten some initial feedback from the Ukrainians, and they're using them quite effectively." Kirby said, "They are using them appropriately, and they are using them effectively," and he added that Ukraine might provide further information. Additionally, Kirby said that the US-supplied cluster bombs, which are prohibited by more than 120 nations, were having an effect on Russian defensive formations and troop manoeuvre.

The Washington Post newspaper claimed on Thursday that Kiev's soldiers are employing cluster bombs against "well-fortified Russian positions that have slowed Ukraine's summer offensive," citing an unnamed Ukrainian source.

The Washington Post claims that antitank and antipersonnel mines and trip wires have been "densely mined with antitank and antipersonnel mines and trip wires in areas" between 4.8km and 16km deep (three to ten miles), slowing Ukraine's counteroffensive.

According to a Ukrainian military officer, cluster bombs are being deployed to "break up" Russian fortifications.

Mykhailo Podolyak, the presidential advisor for Ukraine, "reiterated that the Ukrainian counteroffensive will be slow and difficult but will prevent Russian forces from retaking the battlefield initiative," according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington, DC-based think tank.

Widespread condemnation has been directed at the US and Ukraine for having and using cluster bombs, which have been outlawed in many nations because to the long-term hazards they bring to civilians.

Human Rights Watch stated earlier this month that Russia had "extensively used cluster munitions, causing many civilian deaths and serious injuries" while Ukrainian rocket attacks using cluster munitions on the city of Izyum, which was then under Russian occupation, in 2022 had killed at least eight civilians and injured 15 more.