Controversial cluster munitions used by Ukraine against Russian defences 'effective', says US

Ukrainian forces have begun using US-supplied cluster munitions on the battlefield, the White House has confirmed, as they seek to build momentum in their grinding counter-offensive.  

Kyiv is attempting to dislodge entrenched Russian forces and retake land lost in the early months of the invasion using American cluster munitions.

Ukraine's forces started using the munitions "in the last week or so", White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on 20 July.

"They're using them appropriately; they're using them effectively and they are actually having an impact on Russia's defensive formations and Russia's defensive manoeuvring."

However, Nato allies including Great Britain have discouraged the use of cluster munitions.

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The weapons disperse several hundred small explosive charges – or bomblets – that can remain unexploded in the ground and are banned by many countries because of the long-term risks they pose to civilians during and after conflicts. 

The Convention on Cluster Munitions prohibits the use or stockpiling of cluster munitions due to their indiscriminate effect on civilian populations.

Britain is one of 123 signatories of the convention, while the US, Russia, and Ukraine are not.

Earlier this month, as US president Joe Biden agreed to send the controversial bombs to Ukraine, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made it clear that Britain "discourages" the use of cluster munitions.

Moscow's forces still occupy areas in southern and eastern Ukraine and over a month into Kyiv's long-anticipated counter-offensive, Ukraine's momentum appears to be slowing down.

Earlier this week, a senior presidential aide in Kyiv stated that the operation would be "long and difficult".

Russia hit the Ukrainian ports of Mykolaiv and Odesa with drones and missiles in the third consecutive night of "hellish" strikes, Ukrainian officials said on 20 July.

At least three people died, and more than 20 others were injured in the strikes, officials have stated.