Biden Is Right to Send Cluster Bombs to Ukraine
The risk to civilians is real. But failing to give Ukrainian troops the tools they need to defend themselves would be worse.
They need all the help they can get.
Photographer: Anatolii Stepanov/AFP
President Joe Biden’s decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine has generated heated opposition from close US allies, human-rights groups, and current and former politicians, who question the morality of deploying weapons banned by more than 100 countries. Greater use of cluster bombs may well increase the death toll for both combatants and civilians. Failing to supply Ukraine with the arms it needs to prevail would be worse.
In a meeting Wednesday at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy thanked Biden for sending the bombs, as Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russia encounters tough resistance. The country’s military officials argue that cluster munitions, which can scatter dozens of explosive bomblets over a wide area, are key to clearing troops from their trenches and overcoming Russia’s advantages in manpower and armor. The bombs will also allow Ukraine to conserve its dwindling artillery shells and limit further drawdowns of America’s own stockpiles.