White House comments on cluster munitions shipment to Ukraine, Biden meeting with Erdogan | FULL

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke with media in Washington, D.C., on Friday, as the U.S. formally announced its decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine in what it claims is an effort to help its military push back Russian forces entrenched along the front lines.

Sullivan said it was a “difficult decision” to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, given the historical dangers that unexploded ordinance poses to citizens, but that it was a “unanimous recommendation.” Sullivan added that Russia has been using cluster munitions since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and that Kyiv has been requesting the same weapons in order to defend its own sovereign territory.

Sullivan further defended the decision by saying that the risks of cluster munitions are outweighed by the civilian harm posed by Russian troops in the ongoing war. Sullivan also said that the cluster munition would be used within Ukrainian territory to defend their own land, and that there would be post-war demining efforts to clear the land of weapons from both Russian and Ukraine's own military alike.

Lastly, Sullivan said that allies have been consulted prior to the announcement and that support has been privately and publicly expressed, even if formal support could not be given from signatories of the Oslo convention. He said that he felt there would be no disruptions to international unity from this announcement, ahead of the NATO summit next week.

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