As opposed to conventional munitions, which have a single warhead, cluster munitions operate by dispensing a number of smaller warheads over an area. They are particularly useful against soft and mobile targets, especially those dispersed over a wider area or entrenched in a specific location. However, cluster munitions are banned by most countries due to the risk of unexploded ordinance. In the case of DPICMs, the form of munition most often discussed to be sent to Ukraine, this rate hovers around 2-5%. It’s important to note that Ukraine, Russia, and the US are not signatories to the treaty which banned cluster munitions, and all three possess at least some stockpiles of such munitions. In addition, both Ukraine and Russia have been reported as using cluster munitions during the war. However, Russia’s use of cluster munitions has been significantly greater and appears to have indiscriminately targeted civilian population centers on many occasions. Ukrainian usage has likely been limited by their smaller stockpiles of such weaponry, but the country has used cluster weapons in populated areas in the past, though not with the lack of tactical benefit and disregard for civilian life displayed by the Russians. Ukraine has also been receiving DPICM munitions from Turkey, likely with informal consent from the Biden administration. While I haven’t seen any footage of their use, its likely they have already been deployed somewhere along the front. Neither side has given any indication that they are limiting use based on ethical concerns with tactical munitions.

When discussing DPICM munition aid, it is important to balance the human cost of cluster munitions against the damage that could be caused by a prolonged conflict. Sending DPICMs will unquestionably result in civilians being harmed, now and in the future. It’s unpleasant, but it’s the truth. However, it is also true that civilians are dying now, to a Russian army that has shown a reckless disregard for human life and is engaging in terror bombing of cities it has no chance of taking. Just because cluster munitions have harm associated with them, does not mean that sending them would not decrease the overall harm of the conflict overall. Furthermore, restrictions on the use of such munitions would go a long way toward minimizing civilian harm while retaining most of their combat effectiveness. DPICMs would be massively useful in clearing trenches, for instance, but such usage has far less risk to civilians than attacking a city.