On February 24, 2022, Russia’s Vladimir Putin decided to send troops into Ukraine. In the time since this initial invasion, many lives have been lost on both sides. Since the early 1990s, Ukraine has aligned itself with members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and other Western allies. At the Brussels Summit in June of 2021, NATO expressed that “Ukraine will become a member of the alliance.” Despite Ukraine declaring sovereignty in 1990, Putin has always seen the country as part of Russia. Thus, their desire to join NATO is one of the major reasons Putin decided to invade Ukraine.

Since the beginning of this conflict, the United States has supported Ukraine, with the extent of its aid changing as the war has developed. As of May 2023, the United States had given Ukraine a sum of money equal to roughly 9.6% of the 2021 United States military budget. In addition to financial support, which total over 25 billion dollars, America has given almost twice this figure to bolster Ukraine’s military. Some of this money is devoted towards equipment and training, while a large chunk goes towards a plethora of weapons, including air missiles, drones, tanks, and infantry arms. For the most part, the United States has limited its direct involvement in the war; unlike with Afghanistan and Iraq, America has not sent any troops to Ukraine. On July 7, 2023, however, the United States drastically increased its involvement in the conflict when President Biden authorized the decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine.

Cluster munitions are a unique type of aerial bomb. A typical aerial bomb uses a contact fuze, which is designed to detonate upon impact. With modern technology, militaries can be extremely precise as to when and where these bombs are detonated. The same cannot be said for cluster munitions. While in the air, the main vessel releases hundreds of smaller cluster munitions. After these munitions scatter in the air, they are designed to detonate right before hitting the ground. While there are other bombs that can also cause damage over a similar radius, cluster munitions are particularly dangerous due to their unpredictability. Part of this unpredictability comes from not being able to control their flight path once the submunitions are released. The most dangerous aspect of these munitions, though, is when they fail to detonate, which is referred to as their dud rate. These duds can still detonate after the fact, making them extremely dangerous to all civilians, especially children who may mistake them for a toy. One instance of this danger is currently seen in Laos. Between 1964 and 1973, the United States flew over 500,000 bombing runs over Laos, many of which were cluster bombs. Over 20,000 civilians have been killed by duds since then, with this number still increasing to this day. This indicates that the cluster bombs America sends to Ukraine will cause civilian casualties for decades to come.

Russia has been spreading cluster munitions across Ukraine throughout the duration of this war. The dud rates for these bombs have been between 30 and 40 percent. Biden claimed that “it took me a while to be convinced” to send these munitions to Ukraine. He ultimately made the call after taking advice from the Defense Department. Biden defended his decision by stressing Ukraine’s dire need for additional munitions in order to keep up with Russia. There have been mixed reactions to this decision from Congressmen. Just hours after Biden authorized this move, nineteen House progressives signed a letter to express their strong disapproval. California Congresswoman Barbara Lee was particularly vocal about her disapproval, explaining that “cluster bombs should never be used… they don’t always immediately explode, children could step on them.” Senators Patrick Leahy and Jeff Merkeley believe that the United States should be using its role as a global leader to permanently ban cluster munitions, not set a precedent for their acceptability. Somewhat atypically, most of the support for this move has come from Republican Congressmen. This support for sending cluster munitions is based on the fact that it will level the playing field and that Ukraine will only be using them for self-defense.

In today’s political climate, it is rare for a president’s core base of support to come from the opposite political party. This raises the question: Why is President Biden going against his party’s wishes by sending cluster munitions to Ukraine, especially as he gears up for his reelection campaign? The first possible answer to this question is that the cluster munitions being sent to Ukraine are supposedly more reliable than those being used by Russia, with the Pentagon reporting that these munitions have a dud rate of just 2.35 percent. Having a dud rate this low is crucial, as it lowers the risk of harm to civilians. Thus, Biden is likely using this as justification for his decision to send these weapons to Ukraine. Another reason for sending the cluster munitions is due to the United States running low on its own supply of standard ammunitions. While Biden’s decision to reveal this fact on live television has sparked harsh criticisms, it does provide a better explanation for the rationale and timing of this move.

As the war between Ukraine and Russia continues, it will be interesting to see what America’s involvement will look like. For a majority of the war thus far, the United States has balanced its aid to Ukraine with its desire to remain a moral and ethical leader. Sending cluster munitions, however, severely undermines this moral high ground. In 2008, the Convention on Cluster Munitions occurred, where over 100 countries signed an agreement that banned the use and production of these weapons. The member countries are highlighted in purple in the figure on the left. While the United States was not one of the signatories, Congress passed legislation in 2009 that prohibited cluster munitions that had a dud rate of over one percent. With Biden signing a waiver to override this, it demonstrates his belief that the ends of his actions justify the means.

Given that there is little indication of when the war between Russia and Ukraine will end, this will likely be a major issue presidential candidates will have to discuss as the 2024 election approaches. In the week following Biden’s announcement about the cluster bombs, Trump has already spoken out against Biden’s decision. His first criticism stemmed from his belief that the United States should be trying to end the war and that sending cluster munitions will only increase civilian casualties. He also attacked Biden for disclosing that America was running low on ammunition, claiming that it is classified information. Time will tell whether Biden made the right decision.

If you are interested in reading more about this issue, here are some related article:

1. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cluster-bombs-munitions-ukraine-united-states-russia/
2. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/07/12/world/russia-ukraine-news
3. https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/07/12/lavrov-says-no-end-to-ukraine-war-until-west-abandons-plans-to-defeat-russia-a81808
4. https://nypost.com/2023/04/12/pentagon-leak-shows-14-us-special-forces-present-in-ukraine/
5. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/10/opinion/cluster-munitions-ukraine-biden.html
6. https://thehill.com/policy/international/4094317-desantis-joins-trump-in-opposing-cluster-bombs-for-ukraine/
7. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-says-it-may-use-similar-weapons-if-us-supplies-cluster-bombs-ukraine-2023-07-11/
8. https://www.politico.eu/article/ukraine-cluster-munitions-game-changer-russia-war/
9. https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-is-right-on-cluster-bombs-for-ukraine-russia-war-weapons-military-aid-defense-f22667d3
10. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/07/12/zelenskyy-to-meet-with-biden-seeking-urgency-for-nato-membership/70402322007/