Pentagon says Ukraine using cluster munitions appropriately
The U.S. Department of Defense has assessed that Ukraine is using cluster munitions "properly" on the battlefield, Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said at a briefing on Aug. 10.
"We have all indications that they're employing those weapons properly on the battlefield, as they indicated they would," Ryder said.
Cluster munitions are what allowed the Ukrainians to “continue to take the fight to the enemy right now,” he said.
He also said that Washington had enabled the production of 155mm ammunition to increase rapidly from 14,000 per month in February 2022 to about 24,000 per month.
Moreover, Ryder announced plans to produce more than 80,000 rounds per month in 2024.
He added that the Pentagon would continue to work closely to provide Ukraine with "what's necessary to continue the fight and to take back sovereign territory."
Earlier, CNN reported, citing a Ukrainian official, that Ukraine had provided the Pentagon with a report on the use of cluster munitions provided by the United States.
Provision of cluster munitions for Ukraine - What is known
On July 7, the United States handed over a new military aid package for Ukraine, which included DPICM munitions, or cluster munitions.
Later, U.S. President Joe Biden explained that he agreed to send cluster munitions because the Ukrainian army was short of shells.
However, the provision of such ammunition to Ukraine provoked a range of reactions around the world.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said that the supply of such weapons would help compensate for the Ukrainian army's ammunition shortage.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance does not influence the decisions of individual countries to supply such shells, while the United Kingdom and Spain indicated that they disapproved.
Russia claimed that the supply of cluster munitions to Ukraine "will not change anything," while Cambodia called for the non-use of these munitions because of the risks to civilians.
On July 12, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces would use cluster munitions only for military purposes in the Russian-occupied parts of the country.
On July 13, General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, commander of the Tavria Operational and Strategic Grouping of Troops, said that Ukraine had already received cluster munitions from the United States but had not yet used them. He argued that such ammunition could radically change the situation on the battlefield. The same day, the Pentagon confirmed the delivery of cluster munitions to Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense noted that they would use cluster munitions only in places where Russian troops are concentrated, outside of cities, to avoid risks to civilians.
On July 20, Kirby said that Ukrainian troops had begun using cluster munitions provided by the United States.
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