Normally, the announcement of military aid to the war ravaged Ukraine is welcomed by EU and NATO members alike. Such pledges, especially those involving weapons delivery, are music to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s ears.

The one time allies are not on the same page concerning a member’s decision to give weapons to Ukraine had to do with cluster munitions. Last week, U.S confirmed its decision to provide cluster munitions to Ukraine.

President Joe Biden claimed that they are needed as Ukraine’s stock of ammunition is fast depleting. Spain, Canada, UN and the Human Rights Watch, on the other hand, are not so thrilled by Biden’s stance.

More emphatic in his criticism of the U.S decision was Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who said, “It would be the greatest danger for Ukrainians for many years or up to a hundred years if cluster bombs are used in Russian-occupied areas in the territory of Ukraine.”

The U.S has been supplying Ukraine with a lot of ammunitions and this puts a strain on its stocks. Meanwhile, it has a large amount of cluster munitions as it last used them in battle in Iraq in 2003. This makes the munitions an affordable choice for Ukraine.

Also, Russia uses cluster munitions to attack Ukraine so it is deemed fair and square for Ukraine to use cluster munitions to defend itself, its citizens and its sovereign territory.

As simple as the name may sound, cluster munitions are more than what meets the eye. Designed to hit multiple targets simultaneously, these bombs open in the air and releases smaller “bomblets” across a wide area. It would help Ukraine destroy more targets with fewer rounds.

However, cluster munitions leave unexploded bombs, known as duds, which can remain embedded in the ground and cause unintended deaths.

Even though, the U.S. asserted that a type of cluster munitions that have a reduced “dud rate,” meaning fewer of the smaller bomblets fail to explode, is being sent to Ukraine, there still is a cause for alarm as there is the certainty of some bomblets not exploding.

After some years, the unexploded bomblets can cause havoc. At that time, will the cluster munitions be deemed a “much-needed defence aid package” as Zelenskyy touted them or a much-regretted decision?

When the war ends, Ukrainians will have to clean up a lot of unexploded ordnance from and around the battlefields.

Such is the case of South Sudan, where vast lands have been riddled with mines left from decades of conflict. The country is putting in efforts to clear all anti-personnel minefields and cluster munitions in the country by 2026.

More than 5,000 South Sudanese have been killed or injured by land mines and unexploded ordnance since 2004, according to the U.N. Mine Action Service (UNMAS).

As such, Ukraine has to be circumspect in its use of cluster munitions because it could be its own undoing and source of pain for generations to come. When that happens, the gods are certainly not to be blamed.

Is The End Really In Sight?

It is no secret that thousands of Ukrainians have been murdered and tens more wounded as a result of the ongoing conflict. As the conflict entered its 502^nd day today, July 10, 2023, Ukraine, though battered, is resilient in its defence thanks to the support from its allies.

Allies have been pumping military aid to Ukraine, pledging to support the country “as long as it takes” but the sad reality is that the war is being protracted.

The more weapons Ukraine lays its hands on, the more Russia tries to prove its strength as President Vladimir Putin is not ready to let go easily. Just as Russia was able to project a façade of strength after Wagner’s mutiny, it is willing to spread itself thin just to prove its point to Ukraine and utterly destroy its defences.

As the war persists, more lives are being lost, more casualties recorded and number of refugees that ally countries have to shelter increases.

What needs to be done is for allies to urge Putin and Zelenskyy back to the negotiating table for peace to prevail.