Why Russia Should Be Terrified of U.S. Cluster Bombs

Cluster bombs could be "of considerable value" against Russian forces, experts have told Newsweek, as the U.S. appears close to a decision on sending the controversial munitions to Ukraine.

Cluster munitions are "very useful for clearing out large numbers of infantry," according to Sidharth Kaushal, a research fellow at the London-based Royal United Services Institute think tank. This would be "of considerable value" for Ukraine against Russian forces that are "increasingly reliant on expendable infantry troops," he told Newsweek.

On Wednesday, CBS reported that Washington could make a decision on whether to send cluster munitions to Ukraine in the coming days, citing unnamed U.S. officials. A Pentagon spokesperson told Newsweek that they had seen the reports, and that although the Defense Department is considering the supply of dual-purpose improved conventional munitions (DPICMS), a type of cluster bomb, they had nothing more to share at this time.

The U.S. has long mulled over sending the cluster munitions, which Ukraine has repeatedly requested.

These work by releasing multiple smaller bombs, or submunitions, over a wide area. These bomblets "explode on impact and can kill everything in an area of several football fields," Guy McCardle, managing editor of Special Operations Forces Report (SOFREP), previously told Newsweek.

But they are banned in more than 120 countries, as they can place civilians in harm's way and detonate long after they are deployed.

The U.S., Ukraine and Russia are not signed up to a treaty prohibiting the production, use or stockpiling of cluster munitions.

In late June, a senior Pentagon official said U.S. military analysts had determined that DPICMs would be "useful" for Ukraine, particularly against dug-in Russian troops.

But "the reason why you have not seen a move forward in providing this capability relates both to the existing congressional restrictions on the provision of DPICMs and concerns about allied unity," Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, Laura Cooper, said during a Congressional hearing.

The U.S. handing over cluster munitions could make it harder for Russian infantry forces to contain Ukrainian breakthroughs, Kaushal argued, adding they would also "help the Ukrainians to limit the effect of localized Russian counterattacks."

"In theory, cluster munitions could be a force multiplier for Ukrainian airstrikes and artillery, allowing them to inflict more damage with the same number of strikes," military and defense expert David Hambling told Newsweek.

"However, it's quite debatable how much benefit they would really bring in the current situation," he said, but they "will certainly give some improvement to Ukraine's offensive capability."

Kyiv's forces may also want to take apart cluster bombs, using the "individual bullets as drone bombs because they are highly effective ready-made anti-tank weapons," he added.

But there is "widespread international recognition of the hazards" of cluster munitions, Hambling said.

In a report published on Thursday, advocacy group Human Rights Watch said both Kyiv's and Moscow's use of cluster munitions in the ongoing war had caused the deaths of civilians.

"Both countries should stop using these inherently indiscriminate weapons, and no country should supply cluster munitions because of their foreseeable danger to civilians," the report said.

Referring to reports of an impending decision on cluster munitions from the U.S., Human Rights Watch said that sending these weapons "would inevitably cause long-term suffering for civilians and undermine the international opprobrium of their use."

Update 07/06/23, 11:18 a.m. ET: This article was updated with a response from the Pentagon.