US to send Ukraine cluster munitions, NATO makes membership pledge

The United States announced on Friday that it would supply Ukraine with widely-banned cluster munitions for its counteroffensive against occupying Russian
forces, and NATO’s leader said the military alliance would unite at a summit next week on how to bring Ukraine closer to joining.
Rights groups and the United Nations secretary-general questioned Washington’s decision on the munitions, part of an $800 million security package that brings total U.S. military aid to more than $40 billion since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who describes the conflict as a “special military operation” to protect Russian security, has said the U.S. and its allies were fighting an expanding proxy war.
The cluster munitions “will deliver in a time frame that is relevant for the counteroffensive,” a Pentagon official told reporters.