The United States plans to send cluster munitions to Ukraine as part of the continuous support, against the Russian invasion.
According to Reuters, US officials said on Thursday, the decision is under consideration despite the opposition of human rights groups; aim to give the Ukrainian counterattack another advantage.
Three US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the weapons aid package, which includes 155mm howitzer-fired cluster munitions.
The White House said sending cluster munitions to Ukraine was under consideration, but made no announcement.
US President Joe Biden is attending NATO summit next week in Lithuania, which its dialogues expected to be dominated by the Ukraine war.
Human Rights Watch called on Russia and Ukraine to stop using cluster munitions and urged the United States not to provide them.
Human Rights Watch said that Russian and Ukrainian forces used these munitions, which killed Ukrainian civilians.
Cluster munitions, which banned by more than 120 countries, usually release a large number of bomblets to kill people over a large area indiscriminately, threatening the lives of civilians.
Unexploded bomblets pose a danger that will last for years after a conflict ends.
A 2009 bill bans the United States from exporting cluster munitions with bomblet failure rates greater than 1%, which applies to nearly all of US military’s stockpile.
However, the Biden’s administration could bypass the ban, as his predecessor Donald Trump did in January 2021 to allow the export of cluster munition technology to South Korea.
Ukraine is urging members of Congress to pressure the Biden administration to approve sending cluster munitions known as enhanced conventional dual-purpose munitions.
In different context, Pentagon spokesperson said that Biden administration is considering sending improved munitions to Ukraine, but only those with a failure rate of less than 2.35%.
Under the announced aid package, which is expected to total $800 million, the officials said, Ukraine will also receive ammunition for HIMARS missile systems and vehicles such as Bradley armored personnel carriers and Stryker armored personnel carriers.
This will be the 42nd package approved by the United States for Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022.
