Quote:
Originally Posted by blankall
Russia is also covering the area with landmines. This is much bigger issue than than the unexploded cluster bombs, and when everything is said and done, you're going to need huge efforts to de-mine the area. Are a relatively few unexploded cluster munitions going to make that big of a difference, especially when Russia has already been using them extensively.
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Very much this. On top of the mines, there's all the other unexploded ordnance from all the artillery. Considering that the US stockpile of cluster munitions are likely in much better shape (and thus more likely to explode when intended) than the soviet era artillery rounds both sides have been using, it's questionable whether those cluster munitions are going to make the situation measurably worse than it already is.
Plus let's face it; Ukraine needs artillery rounds, both sides are already using cluster munitions if they can get their hands on them, and none of the participants of the war have signed on to the treaty banning them. That US stockpile is very significant in size, and it's even largely already in Europe for convenience, and the US wasn't planning on using them anyway.
Yes, using large quantities of them will mean dead civilians during and after the war. The continuation of the Russian invasion also means dead civilians. Russians are already using cluster munitions even on purely civilian targets.
Let Ukraine rain more death on the Russian lines. Cluster munitions are very effective weapons, and Ukraine needs good weapons to get as much of their country back as possible.
In other news: war sucks and the Russians responsible for this deserve a special place in hell.