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US cluster munitions pledge for Ukraine, 7 July 2023
Summary
A look back at the $800 million American aid package announced on 7 July 2023, and the Lviv missile strike a day earlier.
What did Washington add to its military support for Ukraine on 7 July 2023? The United States announced an $800 million aid package that, for the first time, included cluster munitions.
The weapons are outlawed by more than 100 countries under the Convention on Cluster Munitions. The United States, Ukraine and Russia are not signatories to it.
What else was in the package
The cluster munitions were not the only items. The package also included M777 howitzers, along with munitions for MIM-104 Patriot and M142 HIMARS missile systems. It listed anti-tank weapons and UAVs as well, plus additional Bradley Fighting Vehicles and Stryker armoured personnel carriers.
The strike on Lviv
The announcement came a day after a Russian attack on the western city of Lviv. On 6 July 2023, Russia launched Kalibr cruise missiles at the city from the Black Sea. The strike killed 10 civilians and injured 48 others. Ukrainian forces said they had shot down seven of the ten missiles.
Taken together, the two reports from those days show the pressure on Ukraine's air defences and the range of equipment Washington was committing to Kyiv, from artillery and armoured vehicles to missile-system munitions.
