RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Pentagon admits disappointment with Ukrainian counteroffensive

Washington’s decision to supply Ukraine with controversial cluster munitions was partly influenced by disappointment with lackluster results of Kiev’s much-vaunted summer counteroffensive, the US Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl told reporters on Friday.

Speaking immediately after the White House announced that President Joe Biden had signed off on the delivery of dual-purpose improved conventional munitions (DPICM) to Ukraine, Kahl said that the decision was influenced by “the urgency of the moment.” 

“We want to make sure that the Ukrainians have sufficient artillery to keep them in the fight in the context of the current counteroffensive, and because things are going a little slower than some had hoped,” he said. 

Kahl admitted that “the Russians have been more successful digging in deeply, perhaps more than is appreciated.”

Kahl, the highest ranking civilian official in the Pentagon, also acknowledged that the cluster munitions would serve as a “bridge” until the US and its allies can increase production of conventional 155mm artillery shells for Ukraine.

After months of postponements, Ukraine’s counteroffensive began on June 4 with a failed attack on Russian positions near Donetsk, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. Outmatched by Russian artillery and lacking air support, Ukraine’s NATO-trained brigades advanced through Russian-laid minefields, suffering steep casualties. The Russian Defense Ministry estimated late last month that Ukraine lost around 13,000 troops and nearly 250 tanks between June 4 and June 21.

Despite these high losses, Kahl claimed on Friday that Kiev’s forces were still “probing for weak spots” in Russia’s multi-layered defensive network, and that the majority of Ukraine’s combat power “has not been brought to bear.”

American officials have been disappointed with the lack of progress, according to multiple US media reports over the last three weeks. Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials have alternated between claiming that the true counteroffensive has yet to begin, and blaming the West for not providing enough weapons to guarantee success. 

Cluster munitions are banned in more than 120 countries because when they detonate, they release many small ‘bomblets’ over a wide area, with these unexploded elements posing severe risks to civilians for years after fighting ends. The US is not a party to the ban, but maintains a prohibition on the export of munitions with a ‘dud’ rate of more than 1%.

Biden waived this ban to supply DPICM ammunition to Ukraine based on “unanimous” advice from his national security team, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Friday. According to Kahl, the DPICM rounds sent to Kiev will have a failure rate of up to 2.35%.

** Democrats slam cluster bomb transfer to Ukraine

Several US Democrats have condemned President Joe Biden’s decision to supply cluster munitions to Ukraine, citing concerns the bombs could maim and kill non-combatants for decades to come.

Following an announcement by the White House earlier on Friday, a number of House Democrats made their opposition known, with Pennsylvania Rep. Representative Chrissy Houlahan saying the move could blur the lines of America's percieved “moral high ground.”

“A victory for Ukraine is an essential victory for democracies across the globe, but that victory cannot come at the expense of our American values and thus democracy itself,” said Houlahan, an Air Force veteran and the co-chair for a congressional caucus on unexploded ordnance.

Cluster bombs carry smaller explosive submunitions which are scattered across a target area, frequently used against infantry and lightly armored vehicles. However, due to their tendency to leave behind undetonated ‘duds’ – which can remain live in former conflict zones for decades – more than 120 nations have agreed to ban the weapon, including a majority of NATO members. 

Though Washington has not joined the international Convention on Cluster Munitions, lawmakers passed legislation in 2009 which barred exports of any cluster bombs with a ‘dud’ rate of more than 1%, which applies to most of the US stockpile. While the law effectively prohibited all foreign transfers of the weapon, the White House can waive the restriction at any time.

During a Pentagon briefing on Thursday, press secretary Patrick Ryder was asked to address concerns over cluster bombs, insisting the military would “carefully” select which type of munitions to send. He claimed any transfer “would not include older variants with dud rates that are higher than 2.35 percent” – more than double the limit set by Congress.

Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts also issued a statement questioning the wisdom of providing cluster weapons to Kiev, saying the bombs “disperse hundreds of bomblets, which can travel far beyond military targets and injure, maim and kill civilians – often long after a conflict is over.” Though Washington, Moscow and Kiev have each declined to sign the cluster bomb treaty, he observed that a long list of US allies had already banned the munitions.

Democrats Ilhan Omar and Sara Jacobs said they will soon introduce legislation that would impose a full-blown ban on cluster bomb transfers as part of foreign military assistance. Jacobs argued the weapons would “prevent the successful economic rebuilding and recovery that’s needed to ensure a prosperous Ukraine and maintain anti-corruption gains,”apparently referring to Kiev’s efforts to crack down on official graft as it seeks to join the NATO bloc.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters on Friday that US officials “recognize that cluster munitions create a risk of civilian harm from unexploded ordnance,” but defended the move after putting it off “for as long as we could.” Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl refused to confirm how many bombs would be provided to Ukraine, but said that there are “hundreds of thousands” of such shells in US stockpiles.

** Russian air defenses down Su-25 ground attack plane in Ukraine operation

Russian air defense forces shot down a Ukrainian Su-25 ground attack plane in the Zaporozhye Region and intercepted 21 rockets of the HIMARS and Uragan multiple launch rocket systems over the past day during the special military operation in Ukraine, Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported on Friday.

"Air defense capabilities shot down a Ukrainian Air Force Su-25 plane near the settlement of Odarovka in the Zaporozhye Region. In the past 24 hours, they intercepted 21 rockets of the HIMARS and Uragan multiple launch rocket systems," the spokesman said.

In addition, Russian air defense systems destroyed 13 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles in areas near the settlements of Velikaya Lepetikha in the Kherson Region, Pologi and Konovalova in the Zaporozhye Region, Shipilovka in the Lugansk People’s Republic, Volodino, Valeryanovka and Staromikhailovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, the general reported.

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

US to send Ukraine cluster munitions, NATO makes membership pledge

The United States announced on Friday that it would supply Ukraine with widely banned cluster munitions for its counteroffensive against occupying Russian forces, and NATO's leader said the military alliance would unite at a summit next week on how to bring Ukraine closer to joining.

Rights groups and the United Nations secretary-general questioned Washington's decision on the munitions, part of an $800 million security package that brings total U.S. military aid to more than $40 billion since Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who describes the conflict as a "special military operation" to protect Russian security, has said the U.S. and its allies were fighting an expanding proxy war.

The cluster munitions "will deliver in a time frame that is relevant for the counteroffensive," a Pentagon official told reporters.

Cluster munitions are prohibited by more than 100 countries. Russia, Ukraine and the United States have not signed on to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which bans production, stockpiling, use and transfer of the weapons.

They typically release large numbers of smaller bomblets that can kill indiscriminately over a wide area. Those that fail to explode pose a danger for decades after a conflict ends.

"Ukraine has provided written assurances that it is going to use these in a very careful way" to minimize risks to civilians, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said.

U.S. President Joe Biden described the decision on cluster bombs as difficult but said Ukraine needed them.

BOTH SIDES SHOULD STOP USING CLUSTER BOMBS -HRW

Human Rights Watch has accused Russian and Ukrainian forces of using cluster munitions, which have killed civilians.

Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov criticized the transfer of these weapons to Ukraine by the U.S.

"The cruelty and cynicism with which Washington has approached the issue of transferring lethal weapons to Kyiv is striking," TASS news agency on Friday quoted Antonov as saying.

"Now, by the fault of the US, there will be a risk for many years that innocent civilians will be blown up by submunitions that have failed."

Ukraine says it has taken back some villages in southern Ukraine since the counteroffensive began in early June, but that it lacks the firepower and air cover to make faster progress.

Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield situation.

"It's too early to judge how the counteroffensive is going one way or the other because we're at the beginning of the middle," Colin Kahl, the U.S. under secretary of defense for policy, told reporters.

ZELENSKIY TOURS NATO COUNTRIES

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Turkey a day after talks in Bulgaria to drum up support for NATO membership before the alliance's July 11-12 summit.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan said after meeting Zelenskiy that Ukraine deserved NATO membership and that Ankara would continue working on a negotiated end to the war.

In Prague, Zelenskiy won a pledge of support for Ukraine to join NATO "as soon as the war is over", and in Sofia secured backing for membership "as soon as conditions allow."

North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg reaffirmed his view that Ukraine would become a member.

"Our summit will send a clear message: NATO stands united, and Russia's aggression will not pay," Stoltenberg said at a news conference in Brussels.

It remained unclear, however, what Ukraine will be offered next week at the summit in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital. The alliance is divided over how fast Ukraine should move towards membership, and some countries are wary of any step that might take NATO closer to war with Russia.

Biden, in an excerpt of a CNN interview that aired on Friday, underscored the point. "I don't think there is unanimity in NATO" about Ukraine joining now, he said.

Zelenskiy has acknowledged that Kyiv is unlikely to be able to join NATO while at war with Russia. Putin has threatened unspecified action if Ukraine joins NATO.

UN WARNS RUSSIA ON GRAINS DEAL

At the United Nations, aid chief Martin Griffiths warned Russia that it should not "chuck away" an agreement it made a year ago on the safe wartime passage of agricultural exports, known as the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

If Russia does not agree to extend the deal that allows export of grain and fertilizer from Ukrainian ports, it is unlikely Western states will continue cooperating with U.N. officials helping Moscow with its exports, Griffiths told reporters.

Russia has threatened to quit the deal, which expires on July 17, because several demands to export its own grain and fertilizer have not been met. The last three ships traveling under the deal are loading cargoes at the Ukrainian port of Odesa and are likely to depart on Monday.

The United Nations and Turkey brokered the deal with Russia and Ukraine in July 2022 to help tackle a global food crisis worsened by Moscow's invasion of its neighbor and blockade of Ukrainian Black Sea ports.