President Biden is said to be close to approving controversial cluster munitions for Ukraine. CNN on Friday cites administration sources to say he is “strongly considering” approval of the transfer.
“Officials told CNN that a final decision is expected soon from the White House, and that if approved, the weapons could be included in a new military aid package to Ukraine as soon as next month,” the report says.
“These would undoubtedly have a significant battlefield impact,” a US official said to the outlet. CNN further acknowledges that “Cluster munitions, which the US has stockpiled in large numbers since phasing them out in 2016, could help fill that gap, officials said.”
For example, the MK-20, which is one of the weapons on Ukraine’s wish list, disperses 240 dart-like submunitions or bomblets after being deployed.
“The US had been producing and selling cluster bombs to its allies until a few years ago,” Antiwar.com recently pointed out. “In 2016, Textron Systems Corporation stopped producing MK-20s when the US stopped selling them to Saudi Arabia. But there’s still an estimated one million of the bombs Pentagon stockpiles.”