The US is leaning toward providing cluster munitions to Ukraine, and the announcement could come as early as next month, two senior US officials told NBC News.
“A third US official said the US is considering providing dual-purpose improved conventional munitions, or DPICMs, to Ukraine but declined to provide any timeline for an announcement,” according to NBC News.
DPICMs are surface-to-surface warheads designed to detonate and scatter numerous smaller munitions or bomblets across wide areas, resulting in significantly broader devastation than individual rounds. These projectiles can be shaped charges capable of penetrating armored vehicles, or alternatively, they can fragment, increasing the threat level and lethality against personnel.
Some human rights groups oppose the utilization of such weaponry due to concerns surrounding the presence of unexploded bomblets, or duds, after battle, that potentially can injure civilians.
The US, Ukraine, and Russia didn’t sign the Convention on Cluster Munitions banning the DPICMs, and Ukraine has been asking for these munitions since last year.
Read also:
- Kyiv privately seeks US submunitions from cluster bombs to be dropped from drones – Reuters
- South Korea is transferring hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds for Ukraine under a confidential arrangement — WSJ
