Easy. A single artillery shell will likely miss, meaning you need to use more of them. Cluster munitions hit a wide area, and therefore you need to use less of them. It’s like using a shotgun vs a rifle. I’d highly recommend this video for more information.
Cluster munitions hit a wide area, and therefore you need to use less of them.
i don’t see what this really has to do with my point—and i’d also question that the history of cluster munitions shows restraint in their usage on the specific bases that they have a better theoretical spread of fire and efficiency than normal shelling. in general, when they’re used they’re used to excess and without much regard for what you’re talking about here because that’s just kind of what happens when you give people a new weapon. that’s part of why they’re so devastating to civilian populations even well after wars have ended
The big difference here is Ukraine is bombing their own territory. Ukraine is not going to use these indiscriminately, they’re not going to target civilian areas (like Russia already has). They have an invested interest in using them carefully and cleaning up the mess ASAP as soon as the war is over.
They have an invested interest in using them carefully and cleaning up the mess ASAP as soon as the war is over.
you’re free to take their word for this but every state fighting a war says that they’re going to use weapons responsibly. how many of them actually do so, or don’t commit war crimes in doing so? the US military, literally the most well funded and powerful combat force in the world (and a force which has not fought for its survival in a long time), still routinely kills civilians in circumstances where that’s avoidable. the idea that Ukraine will be “careful” in its usage of cluster bombs and not misuse them is hopium at best—particularly given the circumstances it’s in. and even if they want to be, again, the point of a cluster bomb is that it’s not a careful munition!
i also don’t think “the bad guys are doing this” is justification for also doing a bad thing that is widely recognized as a crime.
I think Ukraine, specifically, has a huge incentive to show as much restraint in their use as possible here. If you have evidence that defending militaries using cluster munitions typically fail to do so, then I’d be interested to see that.
If you have evidence that defending militaries using cluster munitions typically fail to do so, then I’d be interested to see that.
ironically the best recent example of this is Ukraine (most sovereign states being invaded at this stage of history don’t have or aren’t known to have cluster munitions)—it is exceedingly likely that in the past 9 years Ukraine has used them without much restraint. Georgia also admitted to using them pretty freely when they were being invaded by Russia in 2008.
We’re at an impasse and I’m going to agree to disagree here. Specifically on them being used without much regard for accuracy because that just seems nonsensical. The whole goal of shooting at a thing (or a person) is to hit it (or them). Firing at random just wastes ammo and doesn’t help the war effort. As for “used to excess”, how do you define what’s excessive? Certainly an artillery battery will not keep firing once the target has been killed. And as for the cluster munitions being devastating to civilian populations well after the war ends, so are mines and no one is complaining about either side using those. Not to mention the Russians started using cluster munitions first so if anything this is just achieving force parity.