Scott Ritter, retired US Marine Corps intelligence officer, says the Biden administration's decision to supply Ukraine with M864 shells is simply a callous continuation of a policy aimed at prolonging a conflict that Ukraine cannot win and that is killing hundreds of Ukrainians every day.

According to the decision of the United States, Bradley and Stryker combat vehicles, anti-aircraft missiles and anti-mine equipment, as well as hundreds of thousands of 155 mm, so-called cluster bombs, will be sent to Ukraine within the framework of a project totaling about 800 million dollars. The cluster munitions are being sent despite the US having been until now firmly opposed to supplying such an insidious and extremely dangerous munition.

Much of the world, including many of America’s NATO allies, believes that cluster bombs pose an unacceptable risk to civilian life. Their use was prohibited in a joint agreement, because not only can a large number of civilians die with their use, but they continue to remain life-threatening long after they are fired.

Now, however, Joe Biden has given in, although, according to retired US intelligence officer Scott Ritter, this will probably change nothing for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He also noted that the Biden administration is also lying to the Ukrainians about the safety of the upgraded advanced projectiles, which Ritter says is clearly not true.

Laboratory-like conditions do not at all resemble real life battlefield conditions.

In addition, Ritter surmises that a significant proportion of the ammunition is unlikely to function properly in a live situation.

Since the shelf life of a 155 mm artillery round is 20 years, and since production of the M864 rounds – which began in 1987 – ended in 1996, the vast majority of M864 artillery rounds delivered to Ukraine have reached or exceeded their expiration date.

According to Mr Ritter, US President Joe Biden has no idea what is being sent to Ukraine, while the Pentagon is well aware that most of these artillery shells being sent to Kyiv have exceeded their operational “use by” date and, as such, lack the reliability one would expect in times of war. The Ukrainian forces will achieve limited tactical advantage through its employment, and in many cases, see their probability of kill factor drop. The former intelligence officer says the US decision to provide Ukraine with the M864 DPICM round is driven by one thing and one thing only:

the fact that Ukraine is running out of 155mm artillery shells, and the US has nothing left to give Ukraine except the M864.

The U.S will supply Ukraine with prohibited ammunition, which the Armed Forces of Ukraine will use to bomb Russian cities. According to The New York Times, citing an American official, the Biden administration has agreed on the supply of cluster munitions to Kyiv. pic.twitter.com/By1gREWOsS

— ifyouarewith🇷🇺follow up (@crusaderRU) July 7, 2023

The drawdown in Afghanistan led to the US Department of Defense slashing its artillery acquisition budget in 2021, creating a deficit of production that is only now being addressed in the 2023-24 defense budget. As things stand, Ukraine will exhaust its supply of 155mm artillery shells prior to any of the objectives set for the counteroffensive having been met.

„The decision by the Biden administration to supply Ukraine with the M864 round is simply a callous continuation of a policy designed to prolong a conflict Ukraine cannot win, and which causes Ukraine to lose hundreds of men killed every day.”

Madrid and London do not look kindly on the American decision to send cluster bombs to Ukraine. Meanwhile, Madrid and London do not look kindly on the American decision to send cluster bombs to Ukraine. Although Spain strongly supports Ukraine in the war and its territorial integrity, Spain believes that certain weapons and bombs cannot be delivered under any circumstances, Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles said. The UK is also determined to honor this commitment as a “signatory to a convention which prohibits the production or use of cluster munitions and discourages their use,” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said. “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,” Sunak said, who incidentally will be meeting with Joe Biden in London on Monday ahead of the NATO summit.