Rishi Sunak ‘discourages’ use of cluster bombs after Biden agrees to send controversial munitions Ukraine
Rishi Sunak has said the UK “discourages” the use of cluster bombs after the US agreed to send them to Ukraine.
President Joe Biden has faced criticism for supplying the munitions, which are banned by many allies because of their track record of killing and maiming civilians.
The prime minister said the UK was one of 123 countries that signed a convention banning their use, and would continue focusing on supplying tanks and long-range weapons to help the fight against Russia.
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He added: “We will continue to do our part to support Ukraine against Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion, but we’ve done that by providing heavy battle tanks and most recently long-range weapons, and hopefully all countries can continue to support Ukraine.
“Russia’s act of barbarism is causing untold suffering to millions of people.
“It’s right that we collectively stand up to it.”
Mr Sunak will meet Mr Biden in London on Monday ahead of a NATO summit.
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What are cluster bombs?
Why cluster bombs decision is controversial
Cluster bombs detonate in the air and release “bomblets” that scatter over a large area.
Opponents say they kill indiscriminately and that some of the smaller munitions can fail to detonate, posing a long-term risk to civilians.
Mr Biden has called it a “difficult decision” but said he had to act as “the Ukrainians are running out of ammunition”.
The US says Kyiv has provided assurances it will not use cluster bombs in urban areas, but some NATO allies are likely to be uneasy over their supply.
Why US cluster bombs decision is already causing splits among allies
The US decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine is extremely controversial and is already causing splits in the alliance.
The problem is many of the allies – including the UK – are signatories to a convention banning their use.
And the reason for that is simple – as weapons they are absolutely horrific, hanging around long after the fighting has ceased with the potential to kill indiscriminately.
The US has got Kyiv to agree not to use the munitions in built-up areas but that’s hardly the point – and it’s why there is great unease about their supply.
Cluster munitions describe a method of dispersing large numbers of bomblets over a wide area – they can be delivered by missile, rocket or artillery shell.
They are meant to explode on impact but many don’t, meaning they remain where they fall and can be trodden on by civilians.
They are thought extremely effective as an area weapon, especially when used against heavily fortified positions.
And with Ukraine’s counteroffensive making slow progress the calculation in Washington seems to be that they could help advancing forces to break Russian lines.
Ukraine is also running low on artillery shells.
Neither Russia nor Ukraine are signatories to the treaty and both have used them since the start of the invasion.
The political dimension to all this is awkward but it’s unlikely to derail the alliance.
Downing Street has made its position clear and that will probably be the end of the matter.
There’s though, a real danger of the moral ground the West considers itself to stand on, on the issue of Ukraine, becoming eroded.
Russian war crimes are well documented but Washington is certainly opening itself up to accusations of hypocrisy and double standards.
Some human rights groups consider even the use of cluster munitions as a war crime.
The Convention on Cluster Munitions prohibits their use or stockpiling because of their indiscriminate effect on civilian populations, though the US, Ukraine, and Russia are not signatories.
Both Moscow and Kyiv have used cluster munitions so far in the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the US for the “timely, broad and much-needed defence aid package” that will “bring Ukraine closer to victory over the enemy, and democracy to victory over dictatorship”.
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Opponents say cluster bombs kill indiscriminately and pose a long-term risk to civilians. File pic
Biden’s made ‘wrong call’
Commons Defence Committee chairman Tobias Ellwood urged the US to “reconsider”.
The Tory MP tweeted: “This is the wrong call and will alienate international good will. Their use leaves deadly unexploded ordnance over the battlefield, killing & injuring civilians .”
But Dr Yuriy Sak, adviser to Ukraine’s defence minister, told Sky News: “It is an important move. It is a timely move.
“Russia has been using cluster munitions from day one of this aggressive, unprovoked war against Ukraine. They’ve been using cluster munitions against civilian cities.
“Now, we need these types of weapons as well as other types of weapons, in order for us to achieve one single sole purpose, which is to liberate our land.”
He added: “We will be using these weapons very responsibly.
“Our minister of defence has given written assurances that certain principles will be applied.
“We have a right to self-defence… but in exercising that right, we will always commit ourselves to abiding the international norms of war and humanitarian laws.
“We are dealing with an enemy who is killing our civilians every day.”
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Zelenskyy marks 500 days of conflict
‘The only target will be the enemy’
Insisting the weapons would not be used in urban areas, Dr Sak said: “They will be used only on the battlefield to allow the Ukrainian army to break through the defence lines of the enemy.
“The only target will be the enemy.”
Germany, which is signed up to the cluster bomb ban, has expressed understanding for the American position.
A spokesman for the Berlin government said: “We’re certain that our US friends didn’t take the decision about supplying such ammunition lightly.
“We need to remember once again that Russia has already used cluster ammunition at a large scale in its illegal war of aggression against Ukraine.”
But Spain, also a signatory to the convention, said it opposed the decision.
Spanish defence minister Margarita Robles said: “Spain, based on the firm commitment it has with Ukraine,
also has a firm commitment that certain weapons and bombs cannot be delivered under any circumstances.”
A sex scandal has rocked Thailand’s Buddhist clergy after a woman allegedly enticed a string of monks into having sex with her and then blackmailed them.
At least nine abbots and senior monks have been disrobed and cast out of the monkhood, the Royal Thai Police Central Investigation Bureau said.
Wilawan Emsawat, in her mid-30s, is accused of enticing senior monks into having sex with her and then pressuring them into making large payments to cover it up.
Thai monks are largely members of the Theravada sect, which requires them to be celibate and refrain from even touching a woman.
Several monks transferred large amounts of money after Wilawan initiated romantic relationships with them, police said -her bank accounts received around 385 million baht (£8.8m) in the past three years, with most of that spent on gambling websites.
Wilawan was arrested at her home in Nonthaburi province, north of the capital Bangkok, on charges including extortion, money laundering and receiving stolen goods.
Thai media reported a search of her mobile phones revealed tens of thousands of photos and videos, as well as numerous chat logs indicating intimacy with several monks, many of which could be used for blackmail.
Thailand’s Central Investigation Bureau holding a press conference in Bangkok. Pic: Central Investigation Bureau/AP
An investigation was launched last month after an abbot of a famous temple in Bangkok abruptly left the monkhood.
He had allegedly been blackmailed by Wilawan over their romantic relationship, investigators found.
She told the monk she was pregnant and asked him to pay her 7.2 million baht (£165,000), Jaroonkiat Pankaew, a Central Investigation Bureau deputy commissioner, said at a news conference in Bangkok on Tuesday.
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Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai ordered authorities to review and consider tightening existing laws related to monks and temples, especially the transparency of temple finances, to restore faith in Buddhism, government spokesperson Jirayu Houngsub said on Tuesday.
The Central Investigation Bureau has set up a Facebook page for people to report monks who misbehave, Mr Jaroonkiat said.
“We will investigate monks across the country,” he said. “I believe that the ripple effects of this investigation will lead to a lot of changes.”
World
Tomorrowland: ‘Devastating’ blaze destroys main stage at major festival – two days before it was due to begin
A huge fire has destroyed the main stage of a major festival in Belgium – two days before it was due to begin.
Tomorrowland is a dance music event as big as Glastonbury – and David Guetta was due to perform.
Footage showed flames and thick plumes of black smoke engulfing the stage and spreading to nearby woodland on Wednesday.
The fire gutted the main stage
Fire crews attempt to bring the blaze under control
The annual festival in the town of Boom, north of Brussels, is one of the biggest in Europe and attracts about 400,000 people over two consecutive weekends.
It is famous for its immersive and elaborate designs and attracts big names within dance music – including Guetta, best known for tracks When Love Takes Over and Titanium.
Dutch DJs Martin Garrix and Charlotte de Witte were also due to perform, along with the likes of Swedish House Mafia, Eric Prydz and Alok.
Black smoke could be seen rising into the sky
The festival’s website described the creative elements which went into the elaborate main stage.
The theme, described as Orbyz, was “set in a magical universe made entirely out of ice” and “full of mythical creatures”.
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Organisers said no one was injured in the blaze but confirmed “our beloved main stage has been severely damaged”, adding they were “devastated”.
Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen added: “We received some truly terrible news today. A fire broke out on the Tomorrowland site … and our main stage was essentially destroyed there, which is truly awful.
“That’s a stage that took years to build, with so much love and passion. So I think a lot of people are devastated.”
Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen told reporters ‘a lot of people are devastated’
Despite the fire, Tomorrowland organisers said they were still expecting 38,000 festivalgoers at DreamVille, the event’s campsite.
Israel has shown little respect for international borders since becoming the unrivalled military hegemon of the Middle East. Today that meant an Israeli airstrike on a government building in Damascus.
Israel says its attack on a Syrian defence ministry facility was intended as a warning to the new government: stay out of the part of southern Syria we have occupied or else.
Israel has moved into parts of the south of the country, built military bases and declared a line of control.
Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike that hit the Syrian Defence Ministry in Damascus. Pic: AP
On Monday, Syrian tanks heading south to try and restore order following an outbreak of factional fighting were attacked by Israeli warplanes.
“The presence of such vehicles in southern Syria could pose a threat to Israel,” stated the Israel Defence Forces.
In reality, Syria’s ageing tanks pose minimal threat to Israel’s state-of-the art military.
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Syrian presenter interrupted by Israeli airstrike
The Syrian armour was attacked as it entered the area around Sweida in the Druze heartland of southern Syria following factional fighting there.
The flare-up reportedly began with clashes between Bedouin and Druze groups that ended in scores killed.
The background to the escalation is complicated.
At least three Druze militia groups are divided in their loyalties to different religious leaders and differ over how they should respond to calls to assimilate into the new post-revolutionary Syria.
Druze from Syria and Israel protest on the Israeli-Syrian border.
Pic: AP
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Israel is becoming more and more involved in Syria’s internecine war and says it will remain there indefinitely “to protect our communities and thwart any threat”.
Its critics say Israel is operating a policy of divide and rule in Syria, weakening the fledgling government and creating a buffer zone to protect the border with the Golan Heights – originally Syrian territory that it has occupied and annexed for almost half a century.
Since the fall of the Assad regime, Israel has used airstrikes to destroy of much of Syria’s military capability weakening its ability to impose control on outlying regions. This makes it more not less likely Israel will have a volatile unstable state on its northern border.
Syrian security forces walk along a street in the southern Druze city of Sweida. Pic: Reuters
America and European powers have chosen to normalise relations with the new government in Damascus and lift sanctions.
In contrast Israel has occupied its territory, bombed its military and today hit one of its government buildings in the capital with an airstrike.
Since its crushing military campaigns against Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran, Israel has emerged as the unchallenged military power of the region.
There is however a limit to what blunt force can achieve alone. It requires diplomacy to achieve lasting gains and Israel’s repeated assaults on multiple neighbours combined with its relentless campaign in Gaza are winning it few friends in the region.
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