US plans to supply Ukraine with cluster munitions, officials say
US plans to supply Ukraine with cluster munitions, officials say
The United States plans to send cluster munitions to Ukraine to help it battle Russian invaders, U.S. officials said on Thursday, a move opposed by human rights groups but which would provide a powerful new element to Ukraine's counteroffensive.
Both Russia and Ukraine have been using Soviet-era cluster bombs. Ukraine has asked America to supply dual-purpose improved conventional munitions (DPICM), a class of cluster munition that could be fired from howitzers or from the himarsrocket launchers that Ukraine has been receiving for around a year. They have the added benefit of fewer duds so that risk to future civilian populations is reduced.
12Are these bad because they litter the land with unexploded ordinance? Or is there another reason?
11That’s my understanding. I recall reading that Ukraine has argued this isn’t much of an issue as the south and East of Ukraine are already littered with a huge amount of UXO and mines so it really doesn’t change the calculus in terms of cleanup.
7Yes, since 1979 UXO (mostly cluster munitions there) caused 64000 casualties and 25000 amputations in just Cambodia
Since 1974, 50000 casualties in Laos
This kind of UXO are especially a risk for children
4
not surprised, both side have been using cluster munitions for a while.
3... cluster bombs suck. But when the land is already basically one gigantic minefield, whatever.
My apologies to the ghost of Princess Di, she was a nice lady. But this is a war.
3It's the next generation of future amputees and casualties that'll bear the weight of these unexploded cluster munitions.
12Very true.
6
What about supplying food to the starving populations in Africa?
-20In Fiscal Year 2021, USAID and the U.S. Department of State provided $8.5 billion of assistance to 47 countries and 8 regional programs in sub-Saharan Africa.
This has nothing to do with aiding underdeveloped African nations, this is about defending Ukrainian sovereignty.
16Surprised to see selling weapons to Taliban terrorists isn't included in that list.
-8
Good to see the whatabouters are here already.
What if I told you it’s possible to do multiple things at the same time? For example, you were probably breathing while you wrote out this brain dead take.
11“Whataboutism” is a logical fallacy that presents a counter-accusation in lieu of the question being discussed. What you present here is a textbook definition. The topic is the US’s involvement in supplying Ukraine with a specific type of munition, and not the broader question of how the US allocates its money generally.
9Turns out that we can walk and chew gum at the same time! Whooduh thunk?
7