Ukrainian Civilians, Kids to Face Future Death from US Cluster Bombs, Warns Activist

WASHINGTON, (Sputnik) - Thousands of Ukrainian civilians, especially children, are going to die from unexploded cluster bombs supplied by the United States to the Kiev regime in the coming decades, global peace activist Dr. Helen Caldicott told Sputnik.

"Between 5% to 30% of these bomblets fail to explode initially," Caldicott, founder of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Physicians for Social Responsibility, said. "Many will die unknowingly for years to come from these evil killing contraptions."

The Biden administration is sending cluster munitions, which have been outlawed by 108 countries, to Ukraine to be used against Russian forces with a number of US lawmakers and human rights activists opposing.

"Cluster bombs are, apart from DU [depleted uranium] weapons which cause cancer, genetic defects and birth deformities for the rest of time in the exposed population, the most hideous weapons ever devised, apart from nuclear weapons which incinerate millions of people and which could end life on earth. Take your pick on which you use," she said.

The weapons were expressly designed to cause indiscriminate loss of human life and hideous injuries over a wide area, regardless of who or what was being targeted, Caldicott explained.

"Each bomb is composed of 202 bomblets which are packed with razor sharp shrapnel dispersed at super-high speed over an area of 22 football fields ripping into human bodies. These weapons are prohibited by the Geneva Protocol," she said.

The bomblets, she added, are colored yellow and shaped like a can of soft drink and are therefore attractive to children.

"The food parcels containing peanut butter, pop tarts, rice and potatoes that were dropped throughout Afghanistan by the US were also yellow and the same size and shape as the munitions," she said.

Caldicott said it is estimated that over 5,000 unexploded cluster bomblets may be littered across Afghanistan - this situation therefore could now be translocated to the Ukraine in the future.

The concern about the supply of cluster weapons was also expressed by Spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Saviano Abreu. He told Sputnik that the harm from cluster munitions to the civilian population is well-documented.

"The massive destruction of civilian infrastructure has destroyed essential services, especially near the front lines, when people need them most. This has led to a serious humanitarian crisis. Of course, the use of cluster munitions is part of the problem, and the harm they cause to civilians is well documented," Abreu said.