[WhiskeyOutpost]

Well then. That's interesting... from LiveUAmap

South of Orihiv, Zaporizhia oblast.

[WonderMomma]

"According to an anonymous high-ranking American official, this will help speed up the Ukrainian counteroffensive."




"The Ukrainian military is currently studying in Spain, training on Spanish URO VAMTAC ST5 armored vehicles.
Earlier it was reported about the transfer of 20 such armored vehicles."

[WonderMomma]

"Training of the Ukrainian military in Latvia using a variety of Western weapons:
Leopard 2A6
Patria 6x6
UH-60
RPG Carl Gustaf
G-36."

[duntez]

Originally Posted by WonderMomma ↗

"Training of the Ukrainian military in Latvia using a variety of Western weapons:
Leopard 2A6
Patria 6x6
UH-60
RPG Carl Gustaf
G-36."

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So US approved cluster munition, really?

Sry I think I quoted wrong msg. I meant the one above

[WonderMomma]

Originally Posted by duntez ↗

So US approved cluster munition, really?

Sry I think I quoted wrong msg. I meant the one above

They're considering it.


Source: https://www.politico.com/news/2023/0...y-u-s-00104346

U.S. actively considering giving cluster munitions to Ukraine
No final decision has been made on their delivery, but the changing battlefield has intensified the debate over the past week.

By ALEXANDER WARD

06/29/2023 07:01 PM EDT

The Biden administration is actively considering sending cluster munitions to Ukraine to help Kyiv’s counteroffensive punch through Russia’s defenses, two U.S. officials and a person familiar with the debate said.

The discussion to send dual-purpose improved conventional munitions has intensified in recent days as Ukraine’s effort to break through Russia’s frontline has stalled. The belief among some senior U.S. officials is that the munitions could be one of many tools that makes Ukraine’s campaign more successful.

Late last year, the administration said it had “concerns” about delivering the munitions to Ukraine, mainly for humanitarian reasons and also the U.S. didn’t assess Ukraine needed them at that point. The administration never ruled out their delivery, but cluster munitions didn’t receive a serious look as there were other priority items to give to Kyiv first.

But the internal administration debate over their use has intensified since the sputtering counteroffensive, leading some officials to say the administration is closer to “yes” now than at any other point in the war.

All three people said no final decision has been made and that there’s no timeline for when it would come. Still, one of the U.S. officials, who like others was granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive internal deliberation, said “the U.S. is considering providing” cluster munitions.

The Pentagon said it had nothing to announce regarding the weapon. The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The cluster munitions can be launched from High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and 155mm Howitzers, which the U.S. provided Ukraine as part of $41 billion in security assistance since the war began in February 2022. The munitions scatter large numbers of explosive “bomblets” over a wide area, potentially killing civilians alongside intended targets. The “duds” that don’t work could later explode, harming innocent people and complicating troop movements as the war progresses.

The United States is not party to an international ban on their use, the 2010 Convention on Cluster Munitions signed by more than 100 countries. But Congress has restricted Washington’s ability to transfer cluster munitions, citing the risk to civilians. The president or the secretary of State can override these constraints if a high standard is met.

But last week, Laura Cooper, the Pentagon’s Europe chief, told lawmakers on the House Foreign Affairs Committee that the munitions “would be useful, especially against dug-in Russian positions on the battlefield.”

Republican lawmakers are in favor of the move, and committee Chair Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said last week that cluster munitions “would be incredibly effective against the heavily fortified Russian defensive positions the Ukrainians must now breach.”

Congressional Democrats, however, aren’t in favor. This week, in a letter obtained by POLITICO, 14 Senate Democrats wrote to national security adviser Jake Sullivan that “the humanitarian costs and damage to coalition unity of providing U.S. cluster munitions would outweigh the tactical benefits, and urge the president not to approve such a transfer.”

The battlefield is also littered with mines, one reason Ukraine’s counteroffensive hasn’t gone as quickly as officials in Kyiv and Washington hoped. Russia has used cluster munitions in the war, while evidence is mounting that Ukraine is launching them, too.

According to a March report by the United Nations’ Independent Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, “Ukrainian armed forces likely used cluster munitions and rocket-delivered antipersonnel landmines to carry out attacks in Izium city, Kharkiv region, from March to September 2022, when it was controlled by Russian armed forces.”

[WhiskeyOutpost]

Originally Posted by duntez ↗

So US approved cluster munition, really?

Sry I think I quoted wrong msg. I meant the one above

The US is not signatory to the cluster munitions ban which is at least a decade old now. If memory serves we did not even attend the signing along with several other large countries.

[WhiskeyOutpost]

Originally Posted by duntez ↗

So US approved cluster munition, really?

Sry I think I quoted wrong msg. I meant the one above

Apparently ATACMS guided rockets (non-cluster) for HIMARS systems (M142, M270, MARS II) may have been approved by US though.

[WhiskeyOutpost]

Developments on the expanded Ukrainian presence north of Oleshkiy, Kherson oblast.

[kellyhound]

Originally Posted by WonderMomma ↗

According to a March report by the United Nations’ Independent Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, “Ukrainian armed forces likely used cluster munitions and rocket-delivered antipersonnel landmines to carry out attacks in Izium city, Kharkiv region, from March to September 2022, when it was controlled by Russian armed forces.”[/SIZE]

08/25/2022
A monitoring body says Russia has used cluster weapons on a wide basis in its invasion of Ukraine. Kyiv is also said to have used the weapons, but in a more limited way.

Russia has widely used cluster bombs in Ukraine, causing hundreds of civilian casualties and damaging homes, schools and hospitals, a monitoring body said in a report published Thursday.

A convention established in 2008 prohibits the use, transfer, production and stockpiling of cluster weapons. While the convention has 110 state parties and 13 other signatories, neither Russia nor Ukraine is a party to it.

The 100-page report comes as parties to the convention prepare for a 10th annual meeting from August 30 in Geneva.

[WonderMomma]

"A fighter of the 80th Airborne Assault Brigade with an HK416A2 automatic rifle equipped with an Aimpoint CompM5 collimator sight and a silencer.

It seems that these rifles were given to us by the Netherlands.

HK is generally said to be the Porsche of the rifle world."


"So where are the HK416s in Ukraine coming from? The short answer is: probably the Netherlands.

The HK416s seen in limited use with Ukrainian SOF appear to match Dutch SF configurations dating back to the 2010s. "


"This is a Dutch HK416 A2, as adopted in around 2010. These include 10.4 and 14.5in barrel configurations with the folding front sight attached to the gas block. In around 2018 the Dutch replaced their older, heavily used A2s with A5s"


"On this 10.4in barrel A2 we can clearly see a Dutch armoury tag on the magazine housing just above the manufacturer's markings. These are also commonly seen on Dutch Colt Canada C7 rifles."


"This Dutch Ministry of Defence photo of a Dutch commando in Mali clearly shows the similarities in configuration and the presence of the tag."


"As with other rifles supplied by Western nations we've already seen some in-theatre alterations made to the rifles. In this photo the 416s original HK buttstock has been replaced. "


"There adaptations include new muzzle devices such as mounts for suppressors like the B&T Rotex (which I originally misidentified as a Surefire SOCOM - ...it can happen to the best of us)."


"If you'd like to know more about HK416s in Ukraine, check out my article & video here: https://armourersbench.com/2023/06/1...6s-in-ukraine/

I spoke to a number of the guys using them in the field as well as tracked around a dozen sightings of them in use."