Written by Michael Thervil
Drawing by Konstantin Maler
Recently America provided both the weapons and coordinates on where to launch an attack in Russia with the use of what is known as “Cluster Munitions”. Cluster Munitions have been banned by several countries within the international community. The reason why Cluster Munitions have been banned is because of the amount of collateral damage that this type of munition tends to leave behind. Once a Cluster Bomb has been launched, it breaks up into “clusters” just before striking its intended target. Think of Cluster Munitions like buckshot’s being discharged from a shotgun – but exponentially larger. Each luster is roughly around the size of a soft ball. Another reason why cluster munitions have been banded throughout the international community is because many of the “clusters” fail to detonate as intended. Therefore, it increases the likelihood of them exploding if disturbed at a later date if they’re not discovered and properly disposed of.
You may be asking yourself why this is relevant. It is relevant because Cluster Munitions were used by the Ukrainians to attack Russian citizens on a beach in Crimea, in the city of Sevastopol on July 23rd, 2024. To date there have been just a little over 124 victims. Of the 124 victims, the American led attack with Ukraine resulted in the deaths of five people (three children and two adults). It was also reported by the Russian Ministry of Defense that the specific type of weapon used were: “US-supplied ATACMS operational-tactical missiles equipped with cluster warheads”. The Russian Ministry of Defense also stated: “Four missiles were shot down by Russian air defense but another “deviated from its flight trajectory in the final section due to the impact of air defenses, with the warhead exploding in the air over the city”. This is yet another significant escalation of tensions between the United States and Russia.
Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, left, and U.S. President Ronald Reagan (right) Dec. 8, 1987 signing a treaty eliminating U.S. and Soviet intermediate-range and shorter-range nuclear missiles. Photo Credit AFP/Getty Images
Going back to the INF Treaty (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty) which was previously signed in 1987, by American President Ronald Reagan and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) President Mikhail Gorbachev. This treaty banned the use of both ground-based nuclear munitions and conventional missiles with a range of 500-5,500 kilometers (310-3,410 miles). But it wouldn’t be until 2014 that the United States would accuse Russia of violating the INF Treaty. In return Russia accused the Americans of the same. However, when we fast forward to today, the Trump administration suspended its participation in the INF Treaty on Feb 2, 2019. Mutually, this prompted Russia to do the same. This led to President Valdir Putin making this unprecedented statement this week: “without the INF Treaty – we can make those missiles”.
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