Putin says Russia has stockpiled cluster bombs and will use them in Ukraine if needed

Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that his country possessed a “sufficient stockpile” of cluster bombs and reserved the right to use them if Russian soldiers in Ukraine were subjected to the use of such weapons, which he said was illegal.

In response to shell shortages experienced by Kyiv’s forces as they stage a counteroffensive against Russia, Ukraine said on Thursday that it has received cluster bombs from the United States (US), its largest military ally.

Since cluster munitions often disperse a high number of smaller bomblets that might indiscriminately kill over a large area, they are prohibited in more than 100 nations. Some of them always fail to detonate, and they can endanger people for years or even decades, especially youngsters.

Kyiv has said it will use cluster bombs to dislodge concentrations of enemy soldiers when trying to take back its own territory, but will not use them on Russian territory.

Putin told state TV Moscow would respond in kind if necessary.

“I want to note that in the Russian Federation there is a sufficient stockpile of different kinds of cluster bombs. We have not used them yet. But of course if they are used against us, we reserve the right to take reciprocal action.”

Despite having experienced its own ammunition problems in the past, Putin stated that he considered the use of cluster bombs to be a crime and that Russia had thus far not required to use them itself.

According to Human Rights Watch, cluster munitions have been employed by both Moscow and Kiev. The Convention on Cluster Munitions, which forbids the manufacture, stockpiling, use, and transfer of the weapons, is not ratified by Russia, Ukraine, or the United States.

In addition, Putin said on state television that he saw nothing wrong with Russian experts looking over captured Western weapons and military hardware, such as the Storm Shadow missiles that Britain gave to Ukraine, to see if there was anything helpful that could be incorporated into Russia’s own military hardware.

(With agency inputs)