Manoma, kad JAV Ukrainai pateiks kasetinius šaudmenis, teigia pareigūnas

„Ukraina spaudė Jungtines Valstijas tiekti jai šią amuniciją. Štai vadovas, kodėl tokio tipo ginklai yra prieštaringi ir plačiai uždrausti – ir kodėl Kijevas to nori.

 

Manoma, kad Jungtinės Valstijos paskelbs, kad aprūpins Ukrainą kasetiniais šaudmenimis, sakė aukšto rango Bideno administracijos pareigūnas. Kijevas siekė prieštaringai vertinamo ir plačiai uždrausto ginklo tipo, tačiau Vašingtonas priešinosi dėl galimybės padaryti beatodairišką žalą civiliams, ypač vaikams.

 

Ukraina teigė, kad ginklai padės jos kontrpuolimui prieš Rusijos karius, leisdami jos pajėgoms veiksmingai nusitaikyti į įsitvirtinusias Rusijos pozicijas ir įveikti savo trūkumą  personalo ir artilerijos srityje.

 

Po kelių mėnesių nuogąstavimų, reikšdami susirūpinimą dėl ginklų naudojimo ir teigdami, kad jie nėra būtini, JAV pareigūnai neseniai pranešė apie pasikeitimą. Laura Cooper, gynybos sekretoriaus pavaduotoja Rusijai, Ukrainai ir Eurazijai, praėjusio mėnesio pabaigoje JAV įstatymų leidėjams sakė, kad Pentagonas nusprendė, kad kasetiniai šaudmenys bus naudingi Ukrainai, „ypač kovojant su rusų pozicijomis mūšio lauke“.

 

Apie numatomą JAV sprendimą pirmasis pranešė Nacionalinis visuomeninis radijas, o trečiadienio vakarą patvirtino administracijos pareigūnas, pageidavęs likti anonimiškas, siekdamas atskleisti vidaus politikos diskusijas.

 

Štai ką reikia žinoti apie ginklus.

 

Kas yra kasetiniai šaudmenys?

 

Kasetiniai šaudmenys, pirmą kartą panaudoti per Antrąjį pasaulinį karą, yra ginklų klasė, įskaitant raketas, bombas, raketas ir artilerijos sviedinius, kurie skyla ore ir išsklaido mažesnę amuniciją dideliame plote.

 

Kodėl jie prieštaringi?

 

Kasetinės amunicijos bombos sukurtos taip, kad sprogtų arba užsidegtų atsitrenkus į žemę, tačiau istoriškai gedimų lygis yra didžiausias tarp visų ginklų klasių, o tai turi ilgalaikių ir dažnai pražūtingų padarinių civiliams, ypač vaikams. Pasak humanitarinių grupių, penktadalis ar daugiau bombų gali užsitęsti ir gali susisprogdinti, kai bus sutrikdyta ar sutvarkoma po metų.

 

Nuo Antrojo pasaulinio karo kasetiniai šaudmenys pražudė nuo 56 500 iki 86 500 civilių. Jie taip pat nužudė ir sužeidė daugybę amerikiečių karių. Civiliai gyventojai, įskaitant vaikus Sirijoje, Jemene, Afganistane, Libane, Balkanuose ir Laose, ir toliau kenčia nuo incidentų, susijusių su kasetinių šaudmenų likučiais.

 

Ar šie dalykai nėra uždrausti?

 

Nors kasetinių šaudmenų dislokavimas pats savaime nėra karo nusikaltimas, jų naudojimas prieš civilius gali būti, nes jie žudo taip be atrankos ir sukelia ilgalaikius padarinius.

 

Dėl šių pavojų daugiau, nei 100, šalių – nors ir ne JAV, Rusija ar Ukraina – pasirašė 2008 m. sutartį, vadinamą Kasetinių šaudmenų konvencija, pažadėdamos jų negaminti, nenaudoti, neperduoti ir nekaupti. Kasetinių šaudmenų koalicijos duomenimis, nuo konvencijos priėmimo 99 procentai pasaulinių atsargų buvo sunaikinta.

 

Ar Ukrainoje buvo panaudota kasetinė amunicija?

 

Pasak žmogaus teisių stebėtojų, Jungtinių Tautų ir „The New York Times“ pranešimų, Ukraina jomis pasinaudojo, siekdama atkovoti Rusijos okupuotas teritorijas. Kasetinių šaudmenų koalicija praėjusią vasarą savo metinėje ataskaitoje nurodė, kad kasetiniai šaudmenys per pirmuosius šešis kovos mėnesius nusinešė mažiausiai 689 žmonių gyvybes.

 

Nors sunku žinoti tikslų konflikte panaudotų ginklų skaičių, Ukrainoje užfiksuota ir pranešta apie šimtus, daugiausia apgyvendintose vietovėse, sakoma organizacijos „Human Rights Watch“ 2023 m. gegužės mėn. Daugiausia aukų pareikalavusi ataka buvo 2022 m. balandžio mėn., kai perpildytoje Kramatorsko traukinių stotyje žuvo dešimtys žmonių, o dar daugiau, nei 100 buvo sužeista 2022 m. balandžio mėn.

 

„Perkeliant kasetinius šaudmenis, neatsižvelgiama į didelį pavojų, kurį jie kelia civiliams, ir kenkia pasaulinėms pastangoms juos uždrausti“, – ketvirtadienį pareiškime sakė grupės ginklų gynimo direktorė Mary Wareham.

 

Kaip kiti sąjungininkai vertina šiuos ginklus į Ukrainą?

 

Dauguma NATO – Vakarų karinio aljanso, tvirtai remiančio Ukrainą, narių pasirašė tarptautinį draudimą. M. Cooper, gynybos sekretoriaus pavaduotoja, sakė, kad „susirūpinimas sąjungininkų vienybe“ buvo viena iš priežasčių, dėl kurių Jungtinės Valstijos sulaiko ginklus Ukrainai.

 

 Konvencija dėl kasetinių šaudmenų taip pat riboja susitarimą pasirašiusių šalių galimybes kariškai bendradarbiauti su juos įdarbinančiomis šalimis.

 

Kaip kasetinės amunicijos tiekimas paveiktų konfliktą?

 

Prieš ilgai lauktą Ukrainos kontrpuolimą, Rusijos kariai turėjo keletą mėnesių parengti gynybos linijas nuo artėjančio puolimo su mylių apkasais ir  tankų gaudyklėmis. Ukraina ir Bideno administracija įrodinėjo, kad kasetiniai šaudmenys gali padėti Ukrainos pajėgoms, kurios yra silpnesnės už Rusijos kariuomenę, įveikti šią gynybą."

 

 

 

U.S. Expected to Provide Cluster Munitions to Ukraine, Official Says

"Ukraine has pressed the United States to supply it with the munitions. Here’s a guide to why this type of weapon is controversial and widely banned — and why Kyiv wants it.

The United States is expected to announce that it will provide Ukraine with cluster munitions, a senior Biden administration official said. Kyiv has been pushing for the controversial and widely banned type of weapon but Washington has resisted because of its potential to cause indiscriminate harm to civilians, particularly children.

Ukraine has said the weapons would help in its counteroffensive against Russian troops by allowing its forces to effectively target entrenched Russian positions and to overcome its disadvantage in manpower and artillery.

After months of demurring, citing concerns about the weapons’ use and saying they were not necessary, U.S. officials have recently signaled a shift. Laura Cooper, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia, told U.S. lawmakers late last month that the Pentagon had determined that cluster munitions would be useful for Ukraine, “especially against dug-in Russian positions on the battlefield.”

The expected U.S. decision was first reported by National Public Radio and confirmed on Wednesday night by the administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity in order to disclose internal policy discussions.

Here is what to know about the weapons.

What are cluster munitions?

Cluster munitions, first used during World War II, are a class of weapons including rockets, bombs, missiles and artillery projectiles that break apart midair and scatter smaller munitions over a large area.

Why are they controversial?

Cluster munitions’ bomblets are designed to explode or ignite upon hitting the ground, but historically the failure rate is the highest among all classes of weapons, with lasting and often devastating consequences for civilians. particularly children. According to humanitarian groups, a fifth or more of bomblets can linger, potentially to detonate when disturbed or handled years later.

Since World War II, cluster munitions have killed an estimated 56,500 to 86,500 civilians. They have also killed and wounded scores of American service members. Civilians, including children in Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Lebanon, the Balkans and Laos, continue to suffer from incidents involving remnants of cluster munitions.

Aren’t these things banned?

While the deployment of cluster munitions isn’t in and of itself a war crime, their use against civilians can be, because they kill so indiscriminately with long-lasting effects.

Because of those risks, more than 100 countries — though not the United States, Russia or Ukraine — have signed a 2008 treaty known as the Convention on Cluster Munitions, promising not to make, use, transfer or stockpile them. Since the adoption of the convention, 99 percent of global stockpiles have been destroyed, according to the Cluster Munition Coalition.

Have cluster munitions been used in Ukraine?

Ukraine has used them in efforts to retake Russian-occupied territories, according to human rights monitors, the United Nations, and reports from The New York Times. The Cluster Munition Coalition said in its annual report last summer that cluster munitions had killed at least 689 people in just the first six months of fighting.

While the exact number of the weapons used in the conflict is difficult to know, hundreds have been documented and reported in Ukraine, mostly in populated areas, the group Human Rights Watch said in a May 2023 report. The attack with the highest known casualties was an April 2022 strike with a missile equipped with a cluster munition at a crowded train station in Kramatorsk, which killed dozens and injured more than 100 others, according to the group.

“Transferring cluster munitions disregards the substantial danger they pose to civilians and undermines the global effort to ban them,” Mary Wareham, the group’s arms advocacy director, said in a statement on Thursday.

How do other allies feel about these weapons going to Ukraine?

Most members of NATO, the Western military alliance that has been staunch in its support for Ukraine, have signed on to the international ban. Ms. Cooper, the deputy assistant secretary of defense, said “concerns about allied unity” was one of the reasons holding the United States back from providing the weapons to Ukraine.

The Convention on Cluster Munitions also limits the ability of nations that have signed on to cooperate militarily with countries that employ them.

How would supplying cluster munitions affect the conflict?

Ahead of Ukraine’s long-anticipated counteroffensive, Russian troops have had months to prepare lines of defense against the coming assault, with miles of trenches, tank traps and mines. Ukraine and the Biden administration have argued that the cluster munitions could help the Ukrainian forces, which are outnumbered by the Russian military, overcome those defenses."

 

Polish President: We expect news that Ukraine's path to NATO will be shortened

  Lithuania and Poland need clarity of hell. Ukraine - to NATO, nuclear boom, we - to hell. Everything is clear. Hurrah, the goal has been achieved.

Lenkijos prezidentas: tikimės žinios, kad Ukrainai kelias į NATO bus sutrumpintas

 
 
Lietuvai ir Lenkijai reikia pragaro aiškumo. Ukraina - į NATO, branduolinis bum, mes - į pragarą. Valio, viskas aišku, tikslas pasiektas.  
   
 

U.S. Eyes Curbing China's Access To Cloud --- Biden officials aim to close loophole in chip-export controls as tensions percolate.

 

"WASHINGTON -- The Biden administration is preparing to restrict Chinese companies' access to U.S. cloud-computing services, according to people familiar with the situation, in a move that could further strain relations between the world's economic superpowers.

The new rule, if adopted, would likely require U.S. cloud-service providers such as Amazon.com and Microsoft to seek U.S. government permission before they provide cloud-computing services that use advanced artificial-intelligence chips to Chinese customers, the people said.

The Biden administration's move on cloud services comes as China said Monday that it would impose export restrictions on metals used in advanced chip manufacturing.

This high-stakes conflict over supply-chain access to the world's most advanced technology is escalating in the days ahead of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's visit to China, a trip the Biden administration hopes will ease tensions. Yellen's talks in Beijing are expected to touch on macroeconomic conditions in each country, as well as climate change and debt in the developing world.

The U.S.'s proposed cloud restrictions are seen as a means to close a significant loophole. National-security analysts have warned that Chinese AI companies might have bypassed the current export controls rules by using cloud services.

These services allow customers to gain powerful computing capabilities without purchasing advanced equipment -- including chips -- on the control list, such as the A100 chips by American technology company Nvidia.

"If any Chinese company wanted access to Nvidia A100, they could do that from any cloud service provider. That's totally legal," said Emily Weinstein, a research fellow at Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technology.

The Commerce Department is expected to unveil the action within the coming weeks as part of an expansion of its semiconductor export control policy implemented in October, the people said.

The Commerce Department declined to comment.

The ban on cloud services would be the latest in a series of tit-for-tat actions between Washington and Beijing over semiconductors and other advanced technologies.

Concerned about China's advancement in artificial-intelligence technologies and their military applications, the Biden administration is stepping up efforts to limit transfers of chips and other products and services to Chinese companies.

China has struck back, including banning some firms from buying products from Micron Technology, the largest memory-chip maker in the U.S.

Yellen has said she is hoping to arrest a downward spiral in relations, as U.S. officials worry that China could cut off access to key goods such as components to electric-vehicle batteries. In China, meanwhile, officials contend the U.S. is seeking to hobble China's economic development.

Weinstein said that as an alternative to blacklisting certain types of chips in cloud service, the administration could also restrict U.S. cloud companies from offering services to users linked to military, security or intelligence services in China and other countries of concern.

The new policy would expand the reach of the export control policy to a new set of companies beyond the semiconductor and equipment makers. Among U.S. cloud-service providers, Amazon Web Services and Microsoft's Azure are expected to be the most affected because of their existing presence in the Chinese market.

The two companies, along with Google, are the world's leading providers of cloud services, but in China, their presence is overshadowed by fast-growing local providers including Alibaba, Huawei, Tencent and Baidu. In 2022, those four companies together represented nearly 80% of the total customer spending of $30.3 billion, according to Canalys, a Singapore-based research firm. The total spending was up 10% from its 2021 level, the company said.

Neither Microsoft nor Amazon had any immediate comment on the potential action.

In October, the Biden administration unveiled restrictions to curb exports of advanced chips and equipment, but hasn't codified them in final rules.

In the coming weeks, the final and upgraded regulations are expected to be issued, including expanding the scope of restrictions on artificial-intelligence chips made by Nvidia and other chip makers. The new cloud-computing rule is expected to be part of that effort.

As part of the update, the U.S. is also expected to unify the list of controlled chip-making equipment with the Netherlands and Japan.

On Friday, the Dutch government published formal rules requiring its companies to seek government permission before they can sell some types of chip-making equipment abroad.

Under the rule announced by the U.S. last year, U.S. chip makers are required to obtain a license from the Commerce Department to export certain chips used in advanced artificial-intelligence calculations and supercomputing that are used in modern weapons systems.

Outside of the export control regime, U.S. officials and lawmakers have also been considering implementing steps to curb U.S. operations of Chinese cloud-service providers." [1]

1. U.S. Eyes Curbing China's Access To Cloud --- Biden officials aim to close loophole in chip-export controls as tensions percolate. Hayashi, Yuka; McKinnon, John D. 
Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 05 July 2023: A.1.