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Joe Biden has been condemned by human rights groups after he approved sending
widely banned cluster munitions to Ukraine, with one fellow Democrat branding
the decision “unnecessary and a terrible mistake”.

Cluster munitions are prohibited by more than 100 countries. They typically
scatter numerous smaller bomblets over a wide area, sometimes as big as a
football pitch, and can kill indiscriminately. Those that fail to explode
threaten civilians, especially children, for decades after a conflict ends.



Biden defended what he said was a “difficult decision”, but added he had made
the move because the Ukrainians were running out of ammunition.

In an interview with CNN, he said: “This is a war relating to munitions. And
they’re running out of that ammunition, and we’re low on it and so, what I
finally did, I took the recommendation of the defense department to – not
permanently – but to allow for this transition period, while we get more 155
weapons, these shells, for the Ukrainians.”

There is concern in Washington and other western capitals at the slow progress
of Ukraine’s summer counteroffensive, as the war marks its 500th day on
Saturday. Ukrainian commanders say their dug-in Russian opponents have
superiority in artillery and heavy tanks, limiting the ability of their troops
to advance.

On Friday, the Pentagon announced an $800m (£625m) military aid package to
Ukraine that includes cluster munitions.



Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, told reporters at the White
House: “We recognise that cluster munitions create a risk of civilian harm from
unexploded ordnance.

“This is why we deferred the decision for as long as we could. But there is also
a massive risk of civilian harm if Russian troops and tanks roll over Ukrainian
positions and take more Ukrainian territory and subjugate more Ukrainian
civilians because Ukraine does not have enough artillery.

“That is intolerable to us. Ukraine would not be using these munitions in some
foreign land. This is their country they’re defending. These are their citizens
they’re protecting and they are motivated to use any weapon system they have in
a way that minimises risks to those citizens.”

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, described the aid package as “timely,
broad and much-needed defense”, in a tweet thanking Biden for “decisive steps
that bring Ukraine closer to victory over the enemy”.




“The expansion of Ukraine’s defense capabilities will provide new tools for the
de-occupation of our land and bringing peace closer,” he wrote.



The timing is complicated for Biden, who will travel to Europe for a Nato
meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, next week. Jens Stoltenberg, the Nato secretary
general, stressed on Friday that the military alliance took no position on
cluster munitions. “So it is for these individual allies then to make those
decisions,” he told reporters in Brussels.

Related: ‘We need Russia’s complete defeat’: Ukrainian forces upbeat on the
frontline

Human rights organisations criticised the president’s decision, noting that at
least 149 civilians were killed or injured worldwide by the weapon in 2021,
according to the Cluster Munition Monitor.

Most US allies – including Britain, Germany and France – signed on to the UN’s
convention on cluster munitions in 2008. The US, Russia and Ukraine never signed
the treaty, insisting there were circumstances in which use of the weapons was
necessary.



Paul Hannon, a vice-chair of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines and
Cluster Munition Coalition governance board, said: “The Biden administration’s
decision to transfer cluster munitions will contribute to the terrible
casualties being suffered by Ukrainian civilians both immediately and for years
to come. Russia and Ukraine’s use of cluster munitions is adding to Ukraine’s
already massive contamination from explosive remnants and landmines.”

Biden also faced a backlash from within his own Democratic party. Congresswoman
Ilhan Omar, who will co-lead an amendment to the National Defense Authorization
Act prohibiting the sale of cluster munitions, said: “We have to be clear: if
the US is going to be a leader on international human rights, we must not
participate in human rights abuses.

“We can support the people of Ukraine in their freedom struggle, while also
opposing violations of international law. In fact, the innocent victims of the
cluster munitions will almost exclusively be Ukrainian civilians. Instead of
dealing cluster munitions, we should be doing everything in our power to end
their use.”



Related: Secret US-Russia talks over Ukraine ‘not sanctioned by Biden
administration’

Congresswoman Betty McCollum of Minnesota described the move as “unnecessary and
a terrible mistake”, adding: “These weapons should be eliminated from our
stockpiles, not dumped in Ukraine.”

The last concerted American use of cluster bombs was during the 2003 invasion of
Iraq, according to the Pentagon. But US forces considered them a key weapon
during the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, according to Human Rights Watch. In
the first three years of that conflict, it is estimated the US-led coalition
dropped more than 1,500 cluster bombs in Afghanistan.

On Friday, Germany confirmed it opposed sending cluster munitions to Ukraine.
The government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit told reporters in Berlin: “We’re
certain that our US friends didn’t take the decision about supplying such
ammunition lightly. We need to remember once again that Russia has already used
cluster ammunition at a large scale in its illegal war of aggression against
Ukraine.”



A 2009 law bans exports of US cluster munitions with bomblet failure rates
higher than 1%, which applies to virtually all of the US military stockpile. But
Biden can waive prohibitions around the munitions, as his predecessor, Donald
Trump, did in January 2021 to allow the export of cluster munitions technology
to South Korea.

Sullivan said on Friday: “Russia has been using cluster munitions with high dud
or failure rates of between 30 and 40%. In this environment, Ukraine has been
requesting cluster munitions in order to defend its own sovereign territory. The
cluster munitions that we would provide have dud rates far below what Russia is
providing, not higher than 2.5%.

He added: “Ukraine is committed to post-conflict de-mining efforts to mitigate
any potential harm to civilians and this will be necessary regardless of whether
the United States provides these munitions or not, because of Russia’s
widespread use of cluster munitions.”

Ukraine has provided written assurances that it will use the cluster munitions
in a very careful way that is aimed at minimising risk to civilians, Sullivan
added.




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An inmate suspected in several crimes including the murder of a New York woman
escaped from a Pennsylvania jail using tied together bed sheets, triggering a
massive multi-agency manhunt and warnings from officials that he is "very
dangerous" and should not be approached.

Michael Charles Burham, 34, was discovered missing from the recreation area of
the Warren County Jail early Friday morning. He "elevated himself" onto a piece
of exercise equipment and left the yard through a metal gated room, said
Cecile Stelter, a spokesperson for Warren County, at a Friday afternoon news
conference. He then used bed sheets that he tied together to climb down to the
ground.

Staff realized Burham was missing minutes after his escape, Stelter said, noting
that he was under video surveillance while in the recreation area.

"He is considered dangerous by his past actions," she said. "And the public is
asked not to approach him, but if they see anything unusual to call 911."



Authorities in Warren said Saturday that Burham’s whereabouts are unknown and
the search has expanded beyond the city. Stelter said Burham has “survivalist
skills” and is comfortable living in wooded areas.




Warren police asked residents to check their security cameras for any possible
sighting of Burham, who was wearing a jail-issued blue denim coat, white and
orange pants, and orange shoes when he escaped.



"The public is asked to remain vigilant and report anything suspicious," police
posted on Facebook. "Burham is considered dangerous and should not be
approached. Please call 911 immediately if he is spotted."

Over 10 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies are assisting in the
manhunt.

Burham was being held at the jail, located about 11 miles from the southwest New
York border, in connection with a burglary and arson, according to Stelter. He
is also accused of kidnapping a Warren County couple and is a suspect in the May
11 murder of Kala Hodgkin, of Jamestown, New York.

He evaded arrest, leading authorities on a multi-state manhunt before his
capture on May 24 in South Carolina, the Jamestown Police Department in New York
said.  

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com






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