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Estonia is considering including 155 mm cluster artillery among its military aid to Ukraine, the country’s Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur told the national TV and radio broadcaster ERR on January 26.
Estonia has a stockpile of DM632 155 mm cluster shells, which were made by Germany’s Rheinmetall. The shell opens up with the help of an explosive charge at a height of 300-500 meters, releasing 63 DM1385 submunitions, covering an area of some 100 square meters. The sumunitions are especially effective against personnel and lightly armored vehicles.
The country will not be able to supply these cluster shells to Ukraine without the approval of Germany, which has ceased the production and use of such munitions.
“We’ll have to see what agreements between our forces we reach with Ukraine,” Pevkur said. “And we’re trying to secure the various authorizations we need. And then maybe we can comment further on what we’ve provided and what we haven’t. Should we provide them [cluster munitions to Ukraine], I don’t see a problem with that on Ukrainian territory, because cluster munitions are already being used by both sides’ armies on Ukrainian territory.”
Estonia has been pushing for more military air to Kiev forces since the start of the Russian special military operation in the country nearly a year ago.
Over 100 countries have signed the convention that prohibits the use of this kind of artillery shells, but neither Estonia nor Ukraine were among them.
Cluster shells are considered dangerous particularly to civilian populations, as undetonated elements effectively become landmines. The DM632 is equipped with a mechanical self-destruct system. However, it does not always work.
The Estonian plan to supply Kiev forces with old cluster shells, which would expose civilians to danger, highlights NATO’s struggle to keep the Ukrainian war machine up and running. The organization’s members are crossing more and more red lines in order to prolong the conflict in the country.
