In an interview published on Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the recent delivery of cluster munitions to Ukraine from the United States. Putin stated that Russia has a “sufficient stockpile” of cluster munitions and warned that Russia reserves the right to respond if Ukraine uses these controversial weapons.
The interview, conducted by Rossiya TV reporter Pavel Zarubin, was released ahead of a scheduled broadcast on Sunday night. Putin clarified that Russia has not used cluster bombs in its ongoing war in Ukraine.
“Until now, we have not done this, we have not used it, and we have not had such a need,” he said, although the use of cluster bombs by both Russia and Ukraine has been widely documented, including by The Associated Press and international humanitarian organizations.
Last week, the Pentagon announced that cluster munitions provided by the United States had arrived in Ukraine. The U.S. sees these munitions, which are bombs that release smaller bomblets when they open in the air, as a means to provide critical ammunition to Ukraine, bolster its offensive capabilities, and push through Russian front lines.
On Sunday morning, Biden’s National Security Advisor addressed the fact that they only send the bombs because they were low on other ammunition (which of course they blamed on Trump):
Cluster bombs have faced criticism from humanitarian groups and some U.S. allies due to the high number of unexploded bomblets they often leave behind. These unexploded remnants pose a threat to civilians long after the conflict has ended. Proponents of the cluster munitions argue that Russia has already been using them in Ukraine and that the weapons provided by the U.S. have been improved to minimize the number of unexploded rounds. Ukraine has pledged to use these munitions only in areas away from densely populated regions.
The UK and Spain warned Biden *not* to send them, but he did it anyway:
The UK and Spain have called on Joe Biden to not send cluster bombs to Ukraine amid concerns over danger to civilian populations. https://t.co/TBVfXCst2C
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) July 10, 2023
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military provided an update stating that over the previous 24 hours, Russia had launched various attacks, including the use of Iranian-made Shahed exploding drones, cruise missiles, anti-aircraft guided missiles, airstrikes, and attacks from multiple rocket launchers. The Ukrainian General Staff emphasized that Russia continues to focus on offensive operations in Ukraine’s industrial east. According to Donetsk regional Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko, two residents were killed, and one person was wounded in the region on Saturday.