Ukraine's troops show CBS News how controversial U.S. cluster munitions help them hold Russia at bay_我的网站
A | Near Lyman, Ukraine — At a secret hide-out deep in a forest near the eastern city of Lyman, Ukrainian forces were caught in the crosshairs of a new line of Russian attack. Our CBS News team huddled in the dugout with the troops, not far from the eastern front line, where Russia was putting them under intense pressure with a barrage of artillery in a bid to stretch Ukraine's resources. Moscow wants to force the Ukrainians to bolster their defenses in the area by pulling soldiers away from their counteroffensive in the south. "We've got a couple of weeks now of very huge combats," U.S.-trained Commander Simon Solatenko told us. He and his elite troops from the Bogun Brigade had been up all night, fending off another Russian assault. They're outmanned and outgunned. The Russian forces have almost 10 times more ammunition.
He's lost a friend in the battle, and he's exhausted. "We're holding our line," he told us with a deep sigh. "It is difficult. I can't say our morale is on the top, but we are holding our line and we are standing."The fighting was so close you could smell the gunpowder, Solatenko told us, but they managed yet again to send the Russian soldiers running back in the opposite direction.One thing that has made a difference further along the front line in the region are the U.S. supplied, and controversial, cluster munitions. The Biden administration agreed to send the weapons earlier this summer, as Ukraine's ammunition shortages threatened its counteroffensive.
Critics of that decision worry about a weapon that releases dozens of smaller "bomblets," which sometimes fail to explode — posing a deadly threat to civilians as they can linger on the ground long after a conflict ends. That risk has seen more than 120 countries ban the use of the weapons, but not Russia, Ukraine or the United States.
Commander Musikant of the Bogun Brigade's artillery unit told CBS News they give his forces a crucial advantage: In the absence of air power, cluster munitions enable Ukrainian troops to clear an area quickly, as they can strike a large section of ground using a single shell.We watched as he directed a strike from their control room. With Russian positions in the firing line, Musikant gave the order to unleash one cluster bomb. The gunner out in the field received the order and let it fly, and then he and his men hotfooted it out of there — firing a shell can reveal their position, and they too can become targets.Ukrainian forces fire a U.S.-supplied cluster munition at a Russian position near the front line outside the eastern city of Lyman, amid Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, August 31, 2023. CBS News The hit was successful.The moral dilemma of using a weapon banned by most countries is not up for debate on the battlefields of Ukraine. The men trying to fend off Russia's invasion believe the cluster bombs are crucial to helping them hold the line, at least for now.The Ukrainian soldiers who spoke to CBS News said the "dud rate" — the number of bomblets that fail to explode — on the American cluster munitions has been very low, claiming they've been almost 100% efficient.White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said in July that Ukraine was putting the weapons to use "appropriately."Russia, too, has relied on the controversial bombs during its invasion, and U.S. officials say Moscow has used older versions, with higher dud rates.
。 Ottawa, Oct 12 (UNI) Two Canadian police officers were shot dead in the line of duty, local police said on Wednesday. In a news release, the South Simcoe Police Service said its officers responded to a call at a home near 25th Sideroad and 9th Line in the Town of Innisfil, about 100 km from Toronto, at approximately 7:55 p.m. (2355 GMT) on Tuesday. The two officers were shot inside the home. The suspect was later pronounced dead following an interaction with police, according to the release. Police have not said what the initial call was for. Both officers were rushed to a local hospital, where one died. Shortly after 7:30 a.m. (1130 GMT) on Wednesday, police announced on social media that the second officer had also died. The release said Ontario's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) is now investigating, which happens when a person is seriously injured or killed as a result of a police interaction. The shooting came a month after Toronto Police Const. Andrew Hong and two others were fatally shot by a gunman near Toronto on Sept. 12. UNI/XINHUA GNK。
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