China says the US decision to send banned cluster munitions to Ukraine could “trigger humanitarian problems.”
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a briefing on Monday that the decision has “given rise to concern across the entire international community.”
“The irresponsible provision of cluster munitions can easily trigger humanitarian problems,” she said, adding that “many countries have clearly voiced their opposition to this move.”
Mao said the Chinese government believes “the parties concerned should refrain from adding fuel to the fire in order to prevent tensions from rising and the Ukrainian crisis from escalating.”
Washington said on Friday it will supply cluster bombs to Ukraine to help in its counteroffensive against Russian forces.
The cluster bombs, known as Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions (DPICM), are banned under an international treaty that took effect in 2010.
The weapons can contain dozens of smaller bomblets, dispersing over vast areas, often killing and maiming civilians.
Some cluster munitions, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross, leave behind bomblets that have a high rate of failure to explode — up to 40% in some cases. They pose a significant threat of serious injury to soldiers and civilians, possibly for decades after their use in conflict.
President Joe Biden of the United States claimed the decision was “very difficult,” but that Ukrainian forces were “running out of ammunition.”
In reaction to the controversial decision, Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov said Saturday that the Biden administration is so obsessed with the idea of defeating Russia that it does not realize the severity of its actions, which only lead to an increase in the number of victims.
He said “bombarding the republic with Western weapons will in no way hinder the path to the goals of the special military operation aimed at eradicating threats to the security of the Russian Federation, including Nazism nurtured in Ukraine.”
Russia launched what it called a special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022 to defend the pro-Russia population in Donbas against Kiev’s persecution and in response to the eastward expansion of NATO. Since then, Ukraine’s attempts to gain victory in several counter offensives have been unsuccessful.
