NATO rejects Ukraine’s request to supply cluster munitions
NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg rejected Ukraine’s request to supply it with cluster munitions and incendiary phosphorus weapons.
In statements to the German RTL / NTV station, Stoltenberg said at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, that “NATO doesn’t recommend or supply this type of weapon… We supply artillery and other types of weapons, but we don’t supply cluster bombs”.
The Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov called at the conference on Friday to supply his country with cluster munitions and incendiary phosphorous weapons.
It’s noteworthy that the use of these two types of weapons is a matter of great controversy, and that cluster munitions are prohibited under international law, and Kubrakov said that his country also wants to use a type of combat tool used by Russia, noting that he understands the difficulties, but he said that this munition can contribute to Resist the attackers.
The name of cluster munitions is given to missiles and bombs that explode above the target and release many small explosive bodies, and phosphorus munitions can cause the most severe types of burns and poisoning cases.
The Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba defended his country’s claim to obtain cluster bombs, and told reporters on the sidelines of his participation in the conference on Saturday, that he understood that this type of munition was controversial in world politics, but said that Ukraine wasn’t a signatory to the treaty banning cluster munitions.
The Ukrainian minister explained: “From a legal perspective, there are no obstacles to this matter, and when we obtain them, we will use them only against the armed forces of the Russian Federation,” noting that Ukraine has evidence that Russia is using cluster munitions.
