Russia Entitled to Tit-For-Tat Moves, if Ukraine Uses Cluster Bombs, Putin Warns

Russia has so far not needed to use cluster munitions, but if this type of weaponry is used against its forces, Moscow has the right to take mirror actions, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, when speaking with journalist Pavel Zarubin.

"So far, we haven't done this, we haven't used any, and no such need has emanated, despite a known shortage of ammo at some point in time, and we also have ammunition, but we did not do this. But, of course, if they are used against us, we reserve the right to take tit-for-tat actions," Putin said in an interview with a Russian TV broadcaster.

Putin also stressed that Russia has a sufficient stockpile of various types of cluster munitions.

"I want to say that Russia has a sufficient supply of various kinds of cluster munitions, and various kinds," Putin clarified.

According to the Russian president, the US itself had previously condemned the use of cluster munitions as a crime, and this is how it should be regarded.

"As for cluster munitions, the US administration itself provided an assessment of these munitions with comments by its staff some time ago. When the use of cluster munitions was called a crime by the US administration itself. This is how I think it should be regarded," he emphasized.

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Putin believes that the United States is giving Ukraine cluster munitions due to an overall shortage of shells.

"They [the US] are not doing this because of 'the good life', but because they are running low on ammunition in general," the president said.

The Russian leader noted that "the Ukrainian army spends up to 5,000 - 6,000 155-caliber shells per day in battle, yet the United States produces 15,000 per month."

"They don't have enough, and there are already not enough [shells] in Europe," Putin pointed out. "But they haven't found anything better than to put forward the use of cluster munitions."

The Ukrainian forces, according to the Russian military, have already used cluster munitions for shelling Donbass, in particular Donetsk. According to Chief of the Department of Information and Mass Communications of Russia's Ministry of Defense, Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov, this suggests that the task of the Ukrainian troops is to kill the maximum number of civilians.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, stressed that such supplies endanger civilians and are aimed at prolonging the crisis.

In addition, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has also stressed that any cargo that contains weapons for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russia. The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that NATO countries were "playing with fire" by supplying weapons to Ukraine.

Lavrov also outlined that the United States and NATO are directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine, "including not only the supply of weapons, but also training [...] on the territory of Great Britain, Germany, Italy, and other countries."

Furthermore, Russia has sent a note to NATO countries because of the arms supplies to Ukraine.