“It is about fairness”: Zelensky convinced of righteousness of providing Ukraine with cluster munitions

The fact that the United States of America provided Ukraine with cluster munitions is a restoration of justice in response to Russian shelling with similar munitions.

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, presented his conviction on this matter during a press conference with the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Jens Stoltenberg, in Vilnius on July 12.

"Russia constantly uses cluster munitions on our territory. It fights exclusively on our land. It kills our people.

And the help that we can get from the United States of America regarding the decision on cluster missiles is for use purely for military purposes, purely on the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine," the Ukrainian head of state emphasized.

Zelensky assured that the use of cluster munitions would be under control.

"This is about fairness; we defend ourselves without using the weapons on the territory of other states," the President noted.

For reference:

The US allocated a new package of defense aid to Ukraine. In particular, America confirmed the provision of cluster munitions to Ukraine.

Later, the Pentagon revealed the details of a new $800 million package of military aid to Ukraine.

The new package of US military aid includes so-called advanced dual-purpose conventional munitions (cluster munitions).

Earlier, the representative of the Pentagon, Pat Ryder, said that the cluster munitions would not be transferred from old stocks, and the failure rate should not exceed 2.35%.

The head of the White House, Joe Biden, admitted in an interview with CNN that Ukraine needs cluster munitions for defense. The decision of the United States of America to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions was "difficult," but Kyiv needed the munitions for a counteroffensive against the Russian Federation.

In turn, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov assured that the Armed Forces of Ukraine would adhere to 5 basic principles when using cluster munitions, which were included in the new military aid package from the United States of America.

In 2008 more than 120 countries adopted a treaty banning cluster munitions' production, use, and stockpiling. The United States, Russia, and Ukraine refused to join it.