“The remarks of White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby regarding supplying cluster munitions to Ukraine caught our attention. The official has effectively admitted that the United States committed war crimes in the Ukraine conflict,” the embassy added on the Telegram app.
Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of using cluster munitions already in the 500-day war, which began with Russia’s entry into Ukraine.
Ukraine pledged not to use the munitions that the United States decided to ship to Kiev in Russia.
More than 100 countries ban cluster munitions. Russia, Ukraine and the United States have not signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which bans the production, stockpiling, use and transfer of these weapons.
These bombs usually release large numbers of bomblets that can kill people indiscriminately over a wide area.
Those unexploded bombs pose a threat for decades after a conflict ends.
On Friday, the Pentagon announced that it would provide Ukraine with a new package of military aid, estimated at $800 million, including cluster munitions.
The Pentagon said: “We will provide Kiev with cluster munitions… The results of the Ukrainian counterattack are less than our expectations, and we must make sure that Kiev has all the necessary tools.”
Earlier on Friday, the US National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, said that his country’s supply of cluster munitions to Ukraine was “the right thing”, noting that Kiev had provided “written guarantees” regarding their use.
At a news conference, Sullivan said: “We recognize the danger of using cluster munitions, and that’s why we’ve delayed a decision on them for as long as possible.”
He stressed that Washington had obtained “written guarantees” from Kiev regarding its “safe use to reduce risks to civilians,” saying: “The Ukrainian government has all incentives to stop any risks surrounding civilians, as they are its citizens.”
He added, “Civilians there are not from other countries. Ukraine is using these weapons to defend its territory. They will be used rationally and responsibly.”
These guarantees include, according to Sullivan, “Ukraine’s pledge not to use cluster bombs outside its territory, and its pledge to use them in a manner that does not harm civilians.”
He continued, “Russia used cluster munitions in Ukraine. The use of cluster munitions by the Russians is unacceptable and unjustified, as they use them to attack a foreign country and against civilian, not military, targets.”
He stressed that this is “a clear violation of international laws, and a kind of war crime for Russia in Ukraine.”
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