Ukraine announced on Thursday that it had used the cluster bombs it received from the United States against Russian troops for the first time.
The use of cluster munitions has caused debate as they are banned in over a hundred countries.
However, new weapons are important for Ukraine. With their help, Ukraine is expected to gain momentum for a slow-moving counterattack.
Cluster weapons are particularly effective against fortified positions
The cluster munitions given to Ukraine are cannon-fired munitions with dozens of daughter shells. They are fired from 155 millimeter cannons, which Ukraine has at its disposal.
A cluster bullet can be fired like a normal cannonball to a distance of about 30 kilometers.
The weapon therefore reaches, for example, Russia’s heavily fortified defense lines on the southern front of Ukraine.
There, the attack has progressed very slowly, because the Russians have had time to firmly dig in their positions.
The head of the Department of Military Art at the National Defense University, colonel Pekka Turunen munitions work particularly well against battle trenches.
– The benefit of daughter ammunition comes to the fore against a dug-in enemy – this ammunition works very well for them, says Turunen.
In addition, ammunition can be used to cause destruction in a wide area. The area of effect depends on the height from which they are fired.
– With one cluster bullet, an area of up to thousands of square meters can be covered, we are talking about maybe even 10,000 square meters, says Turunen.
For Ukraine, the weapon is significant because it has had a constant shortage of artillery ammunition. Artillery plays a key role in the Ukrainian war. Who has more artillery and ammunition is significant for the course of the war.
– If compared to a regular artillery grenade, the effect is about ten times greater, the colonel sums up the effect of the grape cannon.
The weapon also has a significant deterrent effect
Can the cluster weapon have a turning point in the course of the war?
– It can turn out to be revolutionary, because the effect of the weapon is twofold.
Turunen says that in addition to the significant weapon effect, the gun also has a great psychological effect. A projectile causes fear in the opponent in the same way as a mine.
– When a projectile explodes above the fortifications and the daughter shells start exploding in the positions, it can have a revolutionary effect on combat morale, says the colonel.
A video shared on Twitter shows an attack allegedly carried out by a Ukrainian cluster bomb.
An expert following the war in Ukraine of John Helin however, in my opinion, it is not a miracle weapon. According to Helin, however, the aid is significant for Ukraine, which has suffered from a shortage of artillery ammunition for a long time.
– These alone will not change the direction of warfare. However, this will help Ukraine to continue offensive operations well into the autumn, says Helin.
Human rights organizations criticize the use of the weapon
Human rights organizations have criticized the US decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, because some of the munitions may not explode. According to Turunen, US sources say that the proportion of unexploded ammunition would be around 2.5 percent.
Critics of the weapon say the proportion is much higher.
Ukraine has announced that it will not use grape lease for population centers.
Colonel Turunen also points out that in any case there are always unexploded ammunition left in war.
– At the moment, there is a frontal war, and the weapon is intended precisely against the soldiers and military systems of the adversaries. Ukraine has the legitimacy to use the weapon, says Turunen.
Helin does not want to comment on the ethical issues surrounding the weapon, but says that Ukraine is waging a defensive war against a genocidal aggressor.
More than a hundred countries have banned the use of cluster munitions. Ukraine, the United States and Russia are not among the signatories. Finland has also not signed an agreement banning cluster munitions, and the Finnish Defense Forces have them at their disposal.
Russia is threatening to start using munitions, even though it has already used them
Russia has threatened that it will respond in kind if Ukraine starts using cluster munitions.
The claim is so absurd that Russia is known to have used cluster munitions against the Ukrainians already in the early stages of the war.
– Russia has been using these munitions for a year and a half. Russia’s threat to use these seems a little strange in this light, says Helin.