“U.S. cluster munitions to weaken Ukrainian army”, ex intelligence officer

"These weapons will make Ukraine weaker for two reasons. One, there will be less impact than a conventional high explosive round. They will have a less destructive impact on the Russians. Two, they are going to prompt a Russian counter-measure which is going to be in the form of improved cluster munitions used by the Russians," he warned.

"The Russians currently have a ten-fold superiority in artillery over the Ukrainians. Ukraine is about to find itself saturated with cluster bomb units which is going to result in higher casualty rates on the part of the Ukrainians and less efficiency on the battlefield," he added.

Ritter said that "Ukraine is running out of ammunition and the United States and Europe have not been able to come up with the resources necessary to change that (situation)."

"So in act of desperation, because that is what this is, desperation, the United States has agreed to release its war reserve stocks of the Dual Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions," he added.

Ritter made the remarks during an interview with Press TV. He pointed to the warning that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg issued last fall on Ukraine's running out of ammunition in summer.

US President Joe Biden said last week that the decision to provide the munitions was "very difficult," but that Ukrainian forces were "running out of ammunition."
Ritter added that the United States and its allies had failed to provide Ukraine with the promised weapons and munitions to overpower the Russian side.

The US announced on July 7 it would send Kiev cluster munitions as part of an $800-million security package intended to help Ukrainian forces against Russia, despite concerns over the long-term risk posed to civilians by bomblets that fail to explode.