The escalatory move is also an admission of Ukraine’s failure, a senior Russian diplomat has said
FILE PHOTO © Sputnik / Viktor Antonyuk
The US decision to include cluster munitions in its latest batch of military aid to Kiev is an admission of failure and a desperate attempt to stave off defeat, Russian ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, said on Friday.
“Cluster munitions are a gesture of desperation. Such a measure speaks of the awareness of the United States and its satellites of their impotence,” Antonov told reporters. “However, they do not want to admit their own setbacks and the failure of the Ukrainian military’s attempts to carry out an offensive against the Russian regions. Therefore, they commit new acts of madness.”
Washington continues to raise the stakes in the conflict “with tenacity worthy of a better use,” Antonov noted, calling the current level of US provocations “really off the scale, bringing humanity closer to a new world war.”
The White House and the Pentagon confirmed on Friday that the US will be sending dual-purpose improved conventional munitions (DPICM) to Ukraine. One of the reasons cited was that the West was running short of conventional 155mm artillery ammunition.
Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl told reporters at the Pentagon that the decision was driven by “the urgency of the moment” and the desire to keep the Ukrainians fighting. Kiev’s long-heralded offensive has delivered little to no gains in over a month of battles, in which Ukraine lost scores of Western-supplied tanks and other armored vehicles and more than 10,000 casualties, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
Antonov pointed out that the US move ignored concerns coming from Washington’s allies – most of whom have ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions – as well as the misgivings of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
“What’s striking is the cruelty and cynicism with which Washington approached the issue of transferring deadly weapons to Kiev,” the ambassador said. “The administration completely ignored the arguments about the inhumanity of such a step voiced by experts, human rights activists and lawmakers, turning a blind eye to civilian casualties. Now, through the fault of the United States, for many years there will be a risk that innocent civilians will be blown up by malfunctioning submunitions.”
