Worry after the decision: Could end up either way

 

US cluster bomb decision raises concerns: "Could end up either way" 

 

Niklas Gustafsson  

 

Published 2023-07-08 14:29  

 

News  

The US decision to send cluster bombs to Ukraine is described as controversial. 

 

Cluster munitions have been used by both sides during the war, but have been banned in large parts of the world - as civilians risk injury.  

 

- You don't know how the spread of these will turn out, they can end up in any way, says Ove Bring, international law expert and former professor. 

 

Ove Bring, international law expert. Photo: Pawel Flato

 

On Friday, the United States announced that it will send cluster bombs to Ukraine, a weapon they themselves have not used in 20 years and a decision President Joe Biden described as "difficult". 

 

The bombs run a high risk of hitting civilians and those that do not detonate can remain for years and harm civilians.  

 

- They are considered particularly damaging and dangerous for the civilian population, says Ove Bring, international law expert and former professor. 

 

Controversial in the West  

 

Cluster munitions have been used throughout the war in Ukraine according to Paasikivi, but mainly by Russia. According to Paasikivi, the decision that the US now donates the bombs to Ukraine need not be equally sensitive in all parts of the world. 

 

- It is only controversial in the West that the USA donates these, says Lieutenant Colonel Joakim Paasikivi. 

 

At the same time, the decision is criticized by organizations such as Amnesty International and Humans Rights Watch. 

 

"Sending these weapons would inevitably cause long-term suffering to civilians," writes Humans Rights Watch in a press release.  

 

The US believes that Ukraine's ammunition is running out and that cluster bombs in particular have been requested from the Ukrainian side. 

 

- It is a very effective type of weapon, the reason why it has been banned is because it is like a container with lots of small weapon parts in it, and each small individual combat part does not always explode, says Joakim Paasikivi. 

  

The US decided to send cluster bombs on Friday. Photo: Mohammad Zaatari / AP  

 

Can be used in several ways  

 

According to Lieutenant Colonel Paasikivi, there may be several reasons why Ukraine needs cluster bombs. 

 

- On the one hand, you can use them as intended, release them. Then they work very well on Russian trenches and fortifications, it's an ideal weapon for that, says Paasikivi.  

 

At the same time, there would be an opportunity to disassemble the bombs and use the individual charges to attach to drones. 

 

- Because they are better than what they have now, hand grenades and other things, says Paasikivi. 

 

Joe Biden and Volodymyr Zelensky. Photo: Susan Walsh/AP  

 

Don't know how the bombs spread  

 

There is no general international law ban on cluster bombs. But a large number of states have signed a convention where they support a ban. Neither the United States, Ukraine nor Russia have signed the convention. 

 

- There are 123 states that have signed it and 111 that have ratified it, says Ove Bring, international law expert and former professor.  

 

Ove Bring that you cannot really know how the spread of the bombs turns out.  

 

- It can be used against targeted military targets. But they can end up a little anyway.  

 

Ove Bring believes that civilians would be affected is not a very big deal. 

 

- But it cannot be ruled out. I think the idea is that they should be fired at Russian lines and hit Russian troops and staging areas, but there is a risk that civilians will be injured, but it is quite small.  

 

At the same time, there is the risk of so-called dead ends, bombs that have not detonated. 

 

- There is a danger that they don't go off and that children playing can pick up things like this. Among other things, it has happened after the Vietnam War with other weapons systems. That they have hit people in a state of peace and that they remain and pose a danger to the civilian population, says Ove Bring.