Autumn Perkey
At a café bombing on Oct. 5, 2023, 49 Ukrainians were killed. Ukrainian air defenses remain weak, and the continued Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure have damaged the electric grid and water supply in critical areas. Future aid packages need to be approved as swiftly as possible, and they should include any means necessary to defend against Russian adversaries, including cluster munitions.
In July 2023, the U.S. sent a military aid package worth over $800 million, sent at a point in time when the Ukrainians were running out of options, including access to the necessary resources to defend. Amongst the aid sent, this included cluster munitions. Debates have arisen about whether the United States should send cluster munitions to aid in the fight against the Russian invasion. While there are considerable moral consequences and debates about their uses, Ukraine needs an aggressive aid package including the means to defend, which includes the use of cluster munitions. The aggression demonstrated by Russian forces warrants sending military aid packages that include any means necessary to assure Ukrainian defense, including sending the debated cluster munitions.
123 countries including the UK and Spain have outlawed cluster bombs, signing what’s known as the Convention on Cluster Munitions established in 2010, due to the potential harm to civilians. This can happen when the bombs land incorrectly or the fuse does not function properly.
When the smaller bombs are released, they pose a risk of indiscriminately killing over a wide area. However, these bombs are not banned by the countries directly involved in the decision to use them, the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine. Russian forces have already been using cluster bombs in Ukraine, and the Russian counterparts have a failure rate of 30-40%. However, the failure rate of U.S. cluster bombs is only 1-2%. While there is a risk to civilians due to the potential failure rate, effective bomb damage assessment will help reduce these risks while providing necessary support against Russian atrocities. Balancing the use of cluster munitions with the protection of civilians is difficult, but in 2021 there were no reported deaths from initial cluster attacks.
While effective bomb damage assessment may limit the collateral harm caused by cluster bombs, as of 2008 the United States has stopped producing them. Cluster munitions are not ideal against all targets, for example, standard unitary warheads are more effective against point targets like buildings. The use of cluster munitions by Ukraine has been limited in capacity. In their first use in March of 2022, Ukraine forces used cluster munitions near Husarivka, an agricultural village, near Russian military headquarters. During this strike, there were no reported deaths, and the target was a military one. In comparison, Russia has indiscriminately used cluster bombs throughout Ukraine leading to hundreds of civilian casualties. According to the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) estimates between February to July 2022, there have been at least 689 civilian casualties due to cluster bombs most likely associated with Russia’s indiscriminate use or when used improperly within cities are densely populated areas.
As of 2021 149 civilians were harmed by cluster munitions worldwide. This statistic focuses on their use in urban areas, where the overall risk of collateral damage is always higher and is not their intended use. Feedback from the frontlines has asserted that rather than using the cluster bombs indiscriminately, Ukrainian forces have been using them effectively and targeted to break through Russian defenses. The areas in which these bombs are being used are cluttered with Russian antitank, antipersonnel mines and trip wires focusing on a military target, rather than civilian infrastructure and populated areas.
In Ukraine, the case for using cluster munitions is strong. According to U.N.-backed investigations, there is proof of significant Russian war crimes in Ukraine. The original airstrike in Mariupol in 2022 killed hundreds huddled inside a theater. Along with this are the numerous strikes Russia has repeated against Ukrainian infrastructure leading to leaving civilians without heat and electricity during some of the coldest months. These direct abuses against international law, do not even begin to account for the widespread use of torture towards non-combatants by Russian forces, including women and children.
From February 24, 2022, to August 13, 2023, 26,384 civilian casualties have been reported in Ukraine. At least 9,444 civilians died during the Russian invasion as well as 16,940 being injured. While these are the known deaths and injuries, the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights of the United Nations anticipates that the actual numbers are much higher. Numerous civilian atrocities have occurred justifying the U.S. sending the debated cluster bombs back in July of 2023. The continued Russian terrorism, such as the October 5 strike warrants future aid packages that contain any means necessary for Ukrainian defense. These atrocities are unacceptable and warrant the use of the extreme bombs that were sent. While cluster bombs are outlawed by 123 countries, the potential harm of inaction necessitates the risk taken. Further delays in military support through back stocked cluster munitions, will likely lead to more humanitarian abuses by Russian forces, including the torture of civilians.
Overall, Russian cluster munitions fail 169-176% more than the counterparts sent to aid Ukrainians. The failure rate, meaning the likelihood of unexploded bomblets remaining after a cluster bomb is launched, has come back from Ukraine at 2.35 percent, while this is not at the expected threshold of 1-2%, it is still significantly lower than the cluster bombs being deployed by Russian forces (30-40% failure rate). While the UK, Spain, and Canada have spoken out against the U.S. decision to send the cluster bombs, Germany’s president has said that he understands the U.S. decision and it should not be blocked. While Germany still defends its position against the use of cluster bombs in general, the statement has been made that if Ukraine no longer has the means to defend itself, it will mean the end of the country. In the case of the U.S.-sent cluster bombs, the ends necessarily justify the means.
Currently, the Ukrainians are halted from pushing back the Russian adversaries in the eastern Donetsk region. Valergy Zaluzhny, Ukraine’s military commander-in-chief has attributed the halt to a lack of adequate firepower to break through Russian defenses. Additionally, this effort has been supported by Ukrainian President Zelensky as much-needed military aid.
Feedback from Ukraine as of July 2023 to the White House is that the cluster munitions were being used quite effectively to push back Russian forces. While it is unlikely this weapon alone will lead to a victory, the reality is that to counter Russian utility and capability these tools are a necessary means to an end. The additional limitations exist in the fact that there are no other readily available weapons to provide the type of support cluster munitions can provide. Currently, the supply of cannon artillery that acts similarly to a fuse is at an all-time low, as well as the supply of MLRS rockets (which are currently out of production and have been for some time).
Within two weeks of the first cluster munitions aid package, the fighting in Kupiansk remained rough, but with the benefit of additional tools of warfare, Ukrainian forces were able to hold the line against the Russian forces attempting to seek territory by targeting Russian armored vehicles. Kupiansk has been undergoing a regular bombardment of Russian artillery for months and is at risk of civilian death and collateral damage if Russian forces continue their advance upon the city. Cluster munitions can be used to deter the takeover of the city and possibly prevent and deter Russian bombardment and abuses.
Critics of the cluster bombs are dealing with a primarily moral dilemma while ignoring the implications of war. The Ukrainians are fighting to survive against an immoral force and need to match capabilities to protect Ukrainian civilians during a brutish invasion. The reality we face is a tradeoff between providing military assistance to a population that is being tortured, raped, and victimized, or allowing the adversary to maintain an upper hand. Providing military aid may often be limited by what munitions remain in stock, if that option is limited to cluster munitions, and they are used effectively, it is better than no support at all as a defensively Ukraine will lead to a stronger Russian opposition which has proven a threat to civilians and civilian infrastructure.
