Allies oppose US plan
A new US arms package for Ukraine, including cluster bombs, is expected to be announced as early as July 7, three US officials told Reuters on July 6. They also said it had been under serious consideration for at least a week.
According to sources told The New York Times , some top officials in the US administration, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, recommended this move to US President Joe Biden during a meeting of national security officials last week, despite their own reservations.
The unexploded tail of a 300mm rocket apparently containing a cluster bomb in Lysychansk, Ukraine, on April 11, 2022.
The cluster bombs the US is preparing to send are believed to be fired from 155mm howitzers, which typically release large numbers of “bomblets” inside, which can kill people indiscriminately over a wide area, endangering civilian lives. The unexploded bomblets pose a danger for years after the conflict ends.
In 2008, more than 100 countries signed an international treaty banning the use, stockpiling or transfer of cluster bombs, including most of America’s closest allies such as Britain, Germany and France. The US, Russia and Ukraine have not signed, arguing that there are situations where the weapons would need to be used.
Top German officials on July 7 spoke out against the US plan. "I have read the media reports. For us, as a member state, the Oslo agreement applies," Reuters quoted German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock as saying in Vienna, Austria, referring to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM). The convention was signed in Oslo, the capital of Norway, in December 2008 and took effect in August 2010.
"Germany has signed the convention, so that is not our choice," German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius commented in Bern, Switzerland, the same day, referring to the CCM.
Russia did not immediately comment on the US plan. But in late March, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov warned the US against sending cluster bombs to Ukraine, saying the move could escalate the war, according to RT.
Czech Republic increases support for Ukraine
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on July 7 that his country will send combat helicopters to Ukraine and train Kyiv pilots to operate the state-of-the-art US-made F-16 fighter jets.
"The Czech Republic will provide additional combat helicopters and hundreds of thousands of large-caliber ammunition units... We will also help train (Ukrainian) pilots, including F-16 pilots, and provide flight simulators so that training can take place in Ukraine," Fiala told reporters after talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Prague, according to AFP.
According to Prime Minister Fiala, the Czech Republic will support Ukraine's efforts to join the EU as well as NATO. "I believe that Ukraine's future is in the EU, Ukraine's future is in NATO, and this will ensure that a situation like the one we are experiencing in Europe will not happen again. The Czech Republic is ready to provide maximum support," Fiala said at a joint press conference, according to Reuters.
Mr Zelensky is on a tour of NATO member states in Europe, starting on July 6 in Bulgaria, a major arms producer. He then travels to Prague to meet with Prime Minister Fiala as well as Czech President Petr Pavel, a former NATO general. In Prague, he continues to call for Western support for long-range weapons, saying that it is up to the United States to do so.
"Without long-range weapons, it is difficult to both attack and defend... First of all, we want to talk about long-range systems with the United States and now it depends only on them," Mr. Zelensky commented at a press conference in Prague.
After Prague, Mr. Zelensky went to Slovakia on July 7. The Ukrainian president is expected to then travel to Türkiye and hold talks with his counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Kremlin said on the same day that Russia is closely following this meeting, according to RIA Novosti news agency.
The Kremlin also did not rule out the possibility that Mr. Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet in the near future.
According to RIA, the Turkish government has repeatedly stressed that Mr. Erdogan is the only world leader who maintains regular contact with both Mr. Putin and Mr. Zelensky. The exchanges concern not only the Black Sea grain deal but also the exchange of prisoners between the parties.
Ukraine declares advance in Bakhmut
Ukrainian forces have advanced more than 1 km in the city of Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region, according to Serhiy Cherevatyi, a spokesman for the country's military.
"The defense forces continue to maintain the initiative there, putting pressure on the enemy, conducting offensive operations, advancing along the northern and southern flanks... Specifically, over the past day, they have advanced more than 1 km," Reuters quoted Mr. Cherevatyi as saying on Ukrainian television on July 7 about the situation in Bakhmut.
General Oleksander Syrskyi, commander of the Ukrainian army, also said his country's army was advancing towards Bakhmut. "Defence forces are advancing," he said, adding that they had regained some territory but did not provide details.
Another Ukrainian military spokesman said Ukrainian forces had made “local gains” near the village of Klishchiivka, southwest of Bakhmut. Russia still controls Bakhmut, but both sides said fighting was fierce in the area, with Ukrainian forces hoping to encircle the city.
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry announced on July 7 that its forces had repelled 10 Ukrainian attacks in the direction of Donetsk in the past day, killing or wounding more than 420 Ukrainian soldiers.
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