The US will provide cluster bombs to Ukraine and defends the delivery of the controversial weapon

The move was met with divided reactions from Congress, as some Democrats criticized the plan while some Republicans backed it.

President Joe Biden speaks during an event with the National Education Association in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus, Tuesday, July 4, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

US president Joe Biden on Friday defended what he said was a “difficult decision” to provide cluster munitions to Ukraine, a move the administration said was key to the fight and buttressed by Ukraine’s promise to use the controversial bombs carefully.

The decision comes on the eve of the NATO summit in Lithuania, where Biden is likely to face questions from allies on why the US would send a weapon into Ukraine that more than two-thirds of alliance members have banned because it has a track record for causing many civilian casualties.