The Spanish Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, assured yesterday that she does not share the decision of the United States to send cluster bombs to Ukraine, after the American President, Joe Biden, announced that he would deliver them to the new package of ‘United States military aid to the country. Robles expressed respect for the decisions of “a sovereign country”, but pointed out that it is a unilateral initiative that does not take place within the framework of NATO.
Robles, speaking to the press in Madrid, was transparent about Spain’s clear position: “No to grape bombs and yes to aid for self-defense in Ukraine, which we understand is not carried out with these bombs”, he insisted.
For his part, Joe Biden has justified the “difficult” but necessary decision because “the Ukrainians are running out of ammunition”. The president emphasized that it is not a permanent decision, but will be in effect while his country secures a sufficient supply of 155 millimeter artillery, which is widely used by NATO systems.
Paradoxically, the decision of the White House was received with rejection from the official Democratic side and with flattery among the Republicans, for whom sending weapons is the fastest way to defeat Russia. “Grape bombs have the potential to harm civilians years after the conflicts have ended”, emphasized on Twitter the Democratic Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan, representative of Pennsylvania and against the idea that it is necessary to use the same weaponry that Russia is using.
“I remain strongly in support of helping Ukraine deal with Russia’s brutal aggression, but grape bombs will not help. I ask Biden to listen to our NATO allies, including the UK, France, Germany and Spain, who oppose the shipment,” Democrat Jim McGovern also added on Twitter.
From Moscow, “the decision of the Joe Biden Administration to supply cluster munitions to the Kyiv regime is another blatant manifestation of the aggressive anti-Russian course of the United States, aimed at prolonging the conflict in Ukraine and fighting until the last Ukrainian'”, said the spokeswoman for Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, in a statement.
According to the opinion of Russian diplomacy, this is a “cynical attempt to prolong the agony of the current Ukrainian authorities, regardless of civilian casualties”.
