Joe Biden has defended the “difficult decision” to send widely banned cluster munitions to Ukraine, after he was condemned by human rights groups and a fellow Democrat said it was “unnecessary and a terrible mistake”.
Cluster munitions are prohibited by more than 100 countries. They typically scatter numerous smaller bomblets over a wide area, sometimes as big as a football pitch, and can kill indiscriminately. Those that fail to explode threaten civilians, especially children, for decades after a conflict ends.
