Documents confirm: cluster ammunition in Ukraine not only from the US

As recent as July 31 the previous year, DefenseOne reported an 18-shipment load of M483A1 cluster ammunition to Ukraine. The ammunition was tagged as derived from Turkey. Therefore, the ammunition from Turkey is not the only recent import to Ukraine. Prior to this, the US had already decided to back Kiev with the same type of weaponry, a choice that sparked discourse among humanitarian organizations who appealed for the cessation of cluster ammunition usage.

Further emphasized by DefenseOne is the finding that a Romanian company is the shipping agent responsible for the transport of Turkish weapons to Ukraine. The documents revealed that these projectiles - produced between 1994-2022 - were slated to be refurbished prior to shipment. There are, however, no records detailing the exact count of the transferred projectiles or their individual pricing. Based on the calculation of DefenseOne journalist Sam Skove, Ukraine could have potentially purchased over 6,000 units at a cost slightly less than 3,000 dollars per unit.

Cluster ammunition, dubbed the "rain of death", invites worldwide criticism from humanitarian organizations. The criticism bears relation to its working mechanism, which involves assaulting a vast area using a single shell that burst into smaller submunitions.

These submunitions disperse from the main casing at a predetermined height, scattering over a broad area. However, there is a glaring drawback. It is currently impossible to achieve 100 percent accuracy in predicting the precise impact area of cluster ammunition. As a result, some submunitions might inadvertently land in civilian territories or fail to detonate, posing potential threats for months or even years to come.

In terms of specifics, the M483A1 projectiles are identified as 155mm caliber ammunition encased in steel, housing 88 M42/M46 anti-tank submunitions, akin to grenades. The range of this weapon is roughly 12.4 miles.