WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) – US President Joe Biden has defended the delivery of cluster munitions to Ukraine and described it as an interim solution. “This is an ammunition war. And they’re running out of ammo and we’re running low on it,” Biden said in an interview with CNN journalist Fareed Zakaria, parts of which were released Friday. That’s why he finally accepted the Defense Department’s recommendation to supply cluster munitions “not permanently, but for a transitional period” until the US was again able to produce more of the artillery it needed.
Biden went on to say that the decision was very difficult for him. He spoke about it with allies and members of the US Congress. Although the USA is not a signatory to the treaty banning cluster munitions, it took a while before he was convinced to take this step. He considers it necessary because Ukraine needs the ammunition for its counter-offensive against Russia.
The US government announced shortly before that it would supply Ukraine with controversial cluster munitions. It is part of a new $800 million military aid package. Ukraine had long been demanding the delivery of cluster munitions./trö/DP/he