The US Congress has initiated a budget amendment to ban the export of cluster munitions
Republican U.S. Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) said on Monday he intends to co-sponsor an amendment to the U.S. defence budget for fiscal year 2024 to prohibit Washington from sending cluster munitions to Ukraine or any other country.
“Democratic Congresswoman Sarah Jacobs … has introduced an amendment to the National Defence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (NDAA) that states ‘notwithstanding any other provision of law, no military assistance shall affect cluster munitions,'” Goetz said on his online show Firebrand, adding that he intends to co-sponsor the amendment on behalf of the US Republican Party.”
The amendment, among other things, restricts the issuance of defence export licences for cluster munitions, and prohibits both their sale and the transfer of related technology to other countries.
The Congressman expressed confidence that cluster munitions would not end the conflict in Ukraine. The use of such munitions, Goetz said, is a hallmark of the “bloodiest and most inhumane wars” in the world.
Last week, the White House said that the USA had decided to transfer cluster munitions to Kiev. According to statements by the US side, Washington received written guarantees from Kiev that it would minimise the risks of using this type of munitions for civilians and would not use them in strikes on Russian territory. On Monday, the US administration said it had also received assurances from Ukraine that it would clear unexploded cluster munitions at the end of hostilities with Russian Federation.
A cluster munition provides a large kill area because it fires in the air and disperses submunitions. Each M864 projectile is loaded with 72 submunitions: 48 M42 and 24 M46. The former are designed against infantry, the latter to target armoured vehicles.
Such cartridges are not provided with self-destruction devices. According to the US military, 5% to 14% of these munitions may not burst at all, as they have been lying in warehouses for a long time. In this case, they will be mines that threaten civilians even after the conflict is over.
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