The US government is preparing to supply Ukraine’s military with cluster munitions, the New York Times and other US media reported Thursday, citing unnamed government sources.

The Pentagon has not confirmed the reports so far. “I have nothing to announce today,” said Defense Department spokesman Wing Commander Pat Ryder.

Earlier, the White House said it was “reviewing” the shipment of the controversial ammunition to the Ukrainian military.

The head of the US National Defense Staff, General Mark Milley, also said last week that Washington was considering the possibility. Kiev has long been asking for such munitions to be made available to it.

Cluster munitions consist of a carrier (bomb, shell) inside which are so-called “sub-munitions”, which are dispersed over a wide area after the carrier is opened over the target. By their very nature, far from precision weapons, they are responsible for countless civilian deaths and pose a danger to the population.

Their use and transfer were theoretically prohibited by the Oslo Convention (2008), which has been signed by many Western countries, including Germany. But neither the USA nor Russia have ratified it.

Pentagon spokesman Ryder pointed out that the Russian military uses cluster munitions. The US has such munitions in its warehouses, he added.

According to some American media, some such munitions have already been offered – and used by the Ukrainian military.

The supply of new quantities of cluster munitions cannot be excluded from being announced by the Pentagon already today.