Russia slams U.S. cluster munition promise to Ukraine

The Russian Foreign Ministry has sharply criticized the US for pledging to supply cluster munitions to Ukraine.

This is another "blatant revelation of the aggressive anti-Russian course of the United States, aimed at the maximum prolongation of the conflict in Ukraine," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova on Saturday.

The cluster munitions were bound to kill even more civilians, she said.

The ministry claimed the announcement by the US that it would provide Ukraine with the controversial weapons was a sign of desperation on the part of the US, and showed that Ukraine's counteroffensive was failing.

Zakharov dismissed as worthless Kiev's promise to only use the munitions against military target.

"Washington, by supplying cluster munitions, becomes an accessory to the mining of territories and thus also fully shares responsibility for blasts, including of Russian and Ukrainian children," the spokeswoman continued.

Kyiv has been asking for cluster munitions for some time to fend off Russia's invasion. Moscow itself has repeatedly used the munitions throughout the course of the invasion, which entered its 500th day on Saturday.

Cluster munitions are missiles and bombs that burst in the air over the target, scattering or releasing many small explosive devices known as submunitions.

A significant percentage of the explosive devices are duds that do not detonate but remain on site as dangerous unexploded ordnance. Critics note that unexploded bombs can pose a deadly hazard to civilians for years after a conflict has ended.