Biden faces criticism for sending cluster bombs to Ukraine

Members of Congress are divided over President Biden’s decision to provide Ukraine with cluster bombs — which are known for inflicting civilian casualties — to Ukraine for its fight against Russia.

A number of Democrats voiced reservations about the move, announced Friday, after loudly supporting U.S. military assistance to Ukraine for more than a year.

“Cluster bombs should never be used. That’s crossing a line,” Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.

Numerous U.S. allies have banned the use of cluster bombs, and the White House previously blasted the Kremlin for deploying them in its brutal invasion of Ukraine.

“Once you see what takes place, we know what takes place in terms of cluster bombs being very dangerous to civilians,” said Lee. “They don’t always immediately explode. Children can step on them. That’s a line we should not cross.”

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said Sunday he had “some real qualms” about sending cluster bombs.

“When there’s an international prohibition and the U.S. says, ‘But here’s a good reason to do something different,’ it could give a green light to other nations to do something different, as well,” he said on “Fox News Sunday.”

Biden described his recent decision as “a very difficult” one.

“The main thing is, they either have the weapons to stop the Russians now … or they don’t,” he said in a CNN interview. “And I think they needed them.”

Cluster bombs open in the air and release troves of mini-bombs, making them especially dangerous to civilians. U.S. officials hope they can bolster Ukrainian forces as they pursue a grinding counter-offensive.

Since the start of its invasion, which recently passed the 500-day mark, Russia has repeatedly targeted civilian buildings and killed thousands of non-combatants, according to the United Nations.

U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby insisted Sunday that Ukraine is less likely to harm the innocent than Russian forces.

“We can all agree that more civilians have been and will continue to be killed by Russian forces … whether it’s cluster munitions, drones, missile attacks or just frontal assaults, than will likely be hurt by the use of these cluster munitions fired at Russian positions inside Ukrainian territory,” he said on ABC’s “This Week.”

Biden is set to meet with NATO leaders starting Tuesday in Lithuania, where he’s expected to face some pushback over the cluster bombs.

Republican lawmakers cheered the latest form of U.S. military support for Ukraine.

“This should have happened long ago. Russia has been using those for a long time,” Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) told “Fox News Sunday,” though he added that other nations need to do more to assist Ukraine.

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Tex.), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, made similar remarks.

“All the Ukrainians and [President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy are asking for is to give them the same weapons the Russians have to use in their own country against Russians who are in their own country,” he said.

“I don’t see anything wrong with that,” he added. “These weapons will be a game changer. They are highly effective.”

With News Wire Services