WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine says it won't use cluster bombs in Russia

Ukraine's Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov welcomed a U.S. decision to send cluster bombs to Kyiv, saying it would help to liberate Ukrainian territory but promised the munitions would not be used in Russia.

The U.S. announced on Friday it would supply Ukraine with widely banned cluster munitions for its counteroffensive against occupying Russian forces.

Reznikov said the munitions would help save the lives of Ukrainian soldiers, adding Ukraine would keep a strict record of their use and exchange information with its partners.

"Our position is simple - we need to liberate our temporarily occupied territories and save the lives of our people," Reznikov wrote on Twitter.

"Ukraine will use these munitions only for the de-occupation of our internationally recognized territories. These munitions will not be used on the officially recognized territory of Russia."

Cluster munitions are prohibited by more than 100 countries. They typically release large numbers of smaller bomblets that can kill indiscriminately over a wide area. Those that fail to explode pose a danger for decades.

Moscow again criticised the U.S. decision on Saturday, describing it as another "egregious" example of Washington's "anti-Russian" course.

"Another 'wonder weapon', which Washington and Kyiv are counting on without considering its grave consequences, will in no way affect the course of the special military operation, the goals and objectives of which will be fully achieved," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.

Jake Sullivan, U.S. President Joe Biden's national security adviser, sought on Friday to make the case for providing the arms to Ukraine to reclaim territory seized since Russia invaded in February 2022.

"We recognize that cluster munitions create a risk of civilian harm from unexploded ordnance," Sullivan told reporters. "But there is also a massive risk of civilian harm if Russian troops and tanks roll over Ukrainian positions and take more Ukrainian territory and subjugate more Ukrainian civilians because Ukraine does not have enough artillery," he said.

Reznikov said the military would not use cluster munitions in urban areas and would use them only "to break through the enemy defence lines".

Russia, Ukraine, and the United States have not signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which bans the production, stockpiling, use, and transfer of the weapons.

Spain, a signatory to the convention, said it opposed the decision.

"Spain, based on the firm commitment it has with Ukraine, also has a firm commitment that certain weapons and bombs cannot be delivered under any circumstances," Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles told reporters at a Madrid rally on Saturday.

Britain is also a signatory to the convention which prohibits the production or use of cluster munitions and discourages their use, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said.

"We will continue to do our part to support Ukraine against Russia's illegal and unprovoked invasion," he told reporters on Saturday.

** Poland moves troops to eastern border amid Wagner fears

Poland began moving over 1,000 troops to the east of the country on Saturday, the defence minister said, amid rising concern in the NATO-member that the presence of Wagner Group fighters in Belarus could lead to increased tension on its border.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to offer mercenary fighters of Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner group the choice of relocating to Belarus has led to fears among eastern NATO members that their presence will cause greater instability in the region.

"Over 1,000 soldiers and almost 200 units of equipment from the 12th and 17th Mechanized Brigades are starting to move to the east of the country," Mariusz Blaszczak wrote on Twitter.

"This is a demonstration of our readiness to respond to attempts at destabilisation near the border of our country."

Last Sunday Poland said it would send 500 police to shore up security at its border with Belarus.

Poland has seen an increase in the number of migrants trying to cross the Belarus border in recent weeks. According to the Border Guard, over 200 people tried to cross illegally on Friday, including citizens of Morocco, India and Ethiopia.

Poland has accused Belarus of artificially creating a migrant crisis on the border since 2021 by flying in people from the Middle East and Africa and attempting to push them across the frontier.

A senior Wagner commander was quoted as saying on Saturday that mercenaries from the group were preparing to move to Belarus.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

US decision to send Kiev cluster munitions a sign of aggressive policy - Russian MFA

The United States’ decision to provide the Kiev regime with cluster munitions is an example of an aggressive policy aimed at dragging the Ukraine conflict out, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Saturday.

"The decision of the [US President] Joe Biden administration to provide the Kiev regime with cluster munitions is yet another blatant manifestation of the United States’ aggressive anti-Russian policy, which is designed to protract the Ukraine conflict as long as possible and to conduct the war until ‘the last Ukrainian’," Zakharova said.

The diplomat pointed out that by sending cluster munitions to Ukraine, Washington "will in fact become an accomplice in saturating the territory with mines and will fully share responsibility for the casualties caused by explosions, including Russian and Ukrainian children.".

Washington realizes that Ukraine’s assurances to use cluster munitions in a "careful" and "responsible" way mean mothing, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman said.

"Washington is well aware that the assurances of Ukrainian Nazis to use these indiscriminate weapons ‘in a careful’ and ‘responsible’ way are worthless. Civilians will be targeted, as it has happened every time when more and more deadly US-NATO weapon systems were sent to Ukraine," the statement said.

The United States’ decision to provide Kiev with cluster munitions is a sign of despair and evidence of powerlessness in the wake of the failure of Ukraine’s touted ‘counter-offensive’, Zakharova said.

"The transfer of cluster munitions is a gesture of desperation and evidence of powerlessness against the backdrop of the failure of the touted Ukrainian ‘counter-offensive’. Another ‘miracle weapon,’ which Washington and Kiev stake on without giving any thought to dire repercussions, will have no impact on the course of the special military operation, since its goals and objectives will be accomplished in full," the diplomat said.

Reuters/Tass