(PatriotWise.com) — Over the weekend, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan defended the Biden administration’s decision to supply Ukraine with cluster munitions and dismissed the claim that in doing so, the US has lost its moral authority, The Hill reported.
While appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press” last Sunday, Sullivan disputed the idea that a country must sign onto the Convention Against Cluster Munitions to have moral authority. The Convention Against Cluster Munitions bans the production, use, or transfer of cluster bombs. More than two-thirds of NATO member countries are signatories to the cluster munitions ban, while the United States, Russia, and Ukraine are not.
Last week, both Kyiv and the Pentagon confirmed that a shipment of cluster bombs arrived in Ukraine.
The Biden administration had announced earlier this month that it would be sending cluster bombs as part of the latest $800 million military aid package to Ukraine.
Sullivan told host Chuck Todd that America’s moral authority is displayed by its support of Ukraine from a “brutal, vicious attack by its neighbor.” He said he finds it “questionable” that providing Ukraine with weapons to help defend its homeland and protect its citizens somehow challenges the United States’ moral authority.
Sullivan explained that the US is “stepping up” to provide Ukraine with the aid it needs so it isn’t “defenseless in the face of a Russian onslaught.” He said that President Biden is “determined” not to “leave Ukraine defenseless” and the administration remains “committed to that.”
Sullivan also told Chuck Todd that the “current plan” is not to replenish the US stockpile of cluster munitions but instead focus on restocking unitary munitions.
After the shipment of cluster munitions arrived in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned last Sunday that if the US-supplied cluster munitions are used against Russia, “we reserve the right to take reciprocal action.”
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