Cluster munitions provided by the United States and other countries are currently in Ukraine, Joint Staff Director for Operations Lt. Gen. Douglas A. Sims said on Thursday.
"There are cluster munitions in Ukraine at this time," Sims said during a press briefing.
There were cluster munitions in Ukraine provided by third-party countries prior to the US’ delivery of the weapons, Sims added.
Cluster Munitions: Synonym of Destruction
A cluster bomb releases a large number of bomblets from a rocket artillery shell or bomb and many of them at times remain in an unexploded form. That's why it can be dangerous for civilians or children who are playing outside their homes.
They also renders the area useless as it cannot be used for a long time because cluster bombs tend to cover an extensive land mass which is extremely difficult to demine or clear. And this subsequently results in denying the civilians access to a sizable portion of land for agriculture and other activities related to day-to-day life.
Recalling the destruction the cluster bombs caused in previous military conflicts, Soi noted that these types of munitions were extensively deployed during the Vietnam, Cambodia, and Vietnam operations by the US.
America's Dark History in Cluster Bombs
As per a report, US action left behind at least 80 million unexploded shells and ammunition in Vietnam, with thousands dying in the Southeast Asian country as a consequence.
In the 1960s and 1970s, two other Asian nations faced the brunt of America's military actions with the Pentagon launching airstrikes featuring cluster bombs against Laos and Cambodia.