President Joe Biden said in an interview on Sunday that the U.S. is clearly running out of ammunition while defending additional military aid to Ukraine.
In an interview with CNN’s Farid Zakaria, Mr. Biden defended the decision to send cluster munitions, banned in 100 countries, to Ukraine, including some of the United States’ NATO allies. Biden called it a “difficult decision” and called it “our plan to provide cluster munitions to Ukraine” before finally deciding to go ahead with aid, despite the apparent decline in supplies. Allies,” he said, as well as Congress.
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“This is a war on munitions, and they’re running out of ammunition and we’re low on it,” Biden said. “So my final decision was to accept the Pentagon’s recommendations and provide a transitional period, though not permanent, to obtain another 155 weapons and ammunition for the Ukrainians. ‘ he continued.
The president’s statement, coupled with the decision to send cluster bombs, drew backlash on social media, with both conservatives and some Democrats questioning the logic behind the move.
“President Biden isn’t particularly clear, but apparently he’s saying that the US is sending cluster munitions to Ukraine because there’s a shortage of 155mm artillery shells to send cluster munitions to. It’s clearly making an impact,” said Byron Yorke, political correspondent for the Washington Examiner. Said State of the interview.
“Joe Biden shouldn’t have yelled out the quiet part about ‘ammunition ran out’. We have to ask whether it is,” said political commentator Ian Miles Chan. said.
Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. morally opposed Biden’s decision. Made to remember Supporters once called the use of cluster bombs a “war crime” by the president. (Related: Flashback: White House press secretary says use of cluster bombs would be a potential ‘war crime’)
His sentiments were echoed by Democrat Rep. Barbara Lee, who told CNN’s Jake Tupper that Ukraine’s use of cluster munitions is “crossing the line.”
“It doesn’t necessarily explode right away. Children can step on it,” Lee says. said. “The president has successfully managed this war, Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
The White House appears to be backtracking on Biden’s remarks about the U.S. ammunition supply situation. “The military has specific requirements for the number of weapon systems and ammunition to keep in reserve for contingencies and military conflicts,” a White House official said. Said Fox News. “Everything we send to Ukraine exceeds that. So the United States itself is not running out of ammunition.”
“We are allowing the use of cluster munitions so that Ukraine is not left defenseless while we wait for a significant increase in domestic munitions production. We are in,” the official continued. “These cluster munitions are a bridge to a significant increase in munitions production over the coming months, with even higher levels of production coming soon,” they added.
