Cotton backs Biden sending cluster munitions to Ukraine

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) signaled support Friday for President Biden’s expected decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine.

“For Ukrainian forces to defeat Putin’s invasion, Ukraine needs at least equal access to the weapons Russia already uses against them, like cluster munitions,” he wrote on Twitter. “Providing this new capability is the right decision — even if it took too long — and is one I’ve supported.”

The Pentagon is expected to announce the new aid, worth approximately $800 million, on Friday. Ukraine has asked for cluster munitions since last year, but the Biden administration has held off. The munitions are banned by an international treaty signed by more than 120 nations, but not including the U.S., Russia or Ukraine.

A small number of the cluster charges in a round are “duds” that fail to initially detonate and can lead to civilian casualties. The Pentagon has pledged to only send Ukraine cluster munitions that have been tested to have the lowest dud rate possible, no more than 2.35 percent, Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said Thursday.

Russia has used cluster munitions multiple times against Ukraine, including firing the munitions at a preschool in the early days of the war. Human Rights Watch claims that cluster munitions are responsible for “numerous” civilian casualties in Ukraine.

The U.S. has a large stockpile of cluster munitions leftover from the Iraq War, and they could be quite effective for the war in Ukraine, The Associated Press reported.

“Cluster munitions are more effective than unitary artillery shells because they inflict damage over a wider area,” research analyst Ryan Brobst told the AP. 

“This is important for Ukraine as they try to clear heavily fortified Russian positions,” he added.