The US will send cluster munitions to Ukraine as part of a new military aid package, national security adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed on Friday, following months of debate within the Biden administration about whether to provide Kyiv with the controversial weapons banned by over 100 countries, including key US allies.
“I’m not going to stand up here and say it is easy,” Sullivan told reporters. “It’s a difficult decision. It’s a decision we deferred. It’s a decision that required a real hard look at the potential harm to civilians. And when we put all of that together, there was a unanimous recommendation from the national security team, and President Biden ultimately decided, in consultation with allies and partners and in consultation with members of Congress, to move forward on this strategy.”
President Joe Biden approved the transfer of the munitions this week, officials told CNN. CNN first reported last week that the administration was strongly considering the move, as Ukrainians forces have struggled to make major gains in their counteroffensive against Russia.
Throughout the conflict, the US has, in the face of intense lobbying, gradually agreed to Kyiv’s requests for more aggressive weaponry, including Patriot Missile systems and modern tanks. But the decision to send cluster munitions marks a watershed moment with the Biden administration agreeing to send a weapon that most countries have agreed should have no place in modern warfare.
Biden said in an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria on Friday that it was a “difficult decision” to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions for the first time but that he was ultimately convinced to send the controversial weapons because Kyiv needs ammunition in its counteroffensive against Russia.
“It was a very difficult decision on my part. And by the way, I discussed this with our…
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