Moscow says if US gives cluster bombs to Ukraine, Russia may use 'similar' weapons

Moscow says if the United States proceeds with supplying globally-banned cluster bombs to Ukraine, Russia may use "similar" weapons, warning that the move will prolong the war.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu warned that Moscow would have no choice but to use "similar" weapons if Washington supplied controversial cluster munitions to Kiev.

"In the event that the United States supplies cluster munitions to Ukraine, the Russian armed forces will be forced to use similar weapons against the armed forces of Ukraine as a response," he said.

Shoigu further threatened that "Russia has cluster munitions in service... for all occasions." He said that the Russian-made cluster bombs are "much more effective than the American ones, their range is wider and more diverse."

On Friday, the White House said that the US would indeed supply cluster bombs to Ukraine to help its counteroffensive against Russian forces despite a global ban on the use of the controversial munitions. 

Read more: 

• US to supply internationally banned cluster munitions to Ukraine

Cluster bombs are banned under the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), an international treaty that addresses the humanitarian consequences and unacceptable harm caused to civilians by cluster munitions through a categorical prohibition and a framework for action.

The weapons can contain dozens of smaller bomblets, dispersing over vast areas, often killing and maiming civilians. The CCMs are banned because unexploded bomblets can pose a risk to civilians for years after the fighting is over.

Cluster munitions generally eject submunitions that can cover five times as much area as conventional bombs.

"Neither we, nor the Americans, nor Kiev have joined the Convention on Cluster Munitions. However, realizing the threat that such ammunition poses to the civilian population, Russia has refrained from using them in the special operation," Shoigu further said, adding that the Russian army was taking measures to protect its troops from such weapons.

Read more:

• Russia slams US nod to supply cluster bombs to Kiev as 'act of desperation'

The Convention on Cluster Munitions, which took effect in 2010, bans all use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster bombs. More than 100 countries have signed the treaty, but the US, Russia and Ukraine have not.

Since the beginning of the Ukraine war, US media have regularly reported on the weapons shipments sent by the US to boost Kiev's fighting forces, with other NATO members delivering tens of billions in military aid, as well.

By January, the US and its allies had provided Ukraine with over 100 million rounds of small arms ammunition, over a million rounds of artillery shells, and more than 100,000 tank rounds.

Russia sees the flooding of Ukraine with weapons from the West as a futile effort to change the outcome of the war. Moscow says supplying Kiev with more weapons will only add to the death and destruction and prolong the conflict. 

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