Human Rights Watch is asking the US Congress to block Türkiye from transferring tens of thousands of decades-old cluster munitions to Ukraine. The State Department had earlier told Congress it is prepared to authorize the deal, which Ukraine wants to strengthen its firepower against the Russian invasion. 

What Türkiye wants to send

Türkiye has requested US permission to retransfer to Ukraine tens of thousands of cluster munition rockets, missiles, and artillery shells held in its stockpiles for decades. The package covers Türkiye's entire inventory of 12 M270 rocket launchers and three types of cluster munitions: 70 M39 ATACMS ballistic missiles, 2,524 M26 rockets, and 47,000 M509A1 203mm artillery shells, according to the State Department transmittal sheets.

The deal is valued at $256 million. Together, the rounds hold more than 10 million explosive bomblets, Human Rights Watch said, produced in part by Türkiye under US licenses first issued in 1987. The US removed the M509A1 shells from service in 1994, when the howitzers that fired them retired, according to HRW.

Cluster munitions scatter small bomblets across a wide area, and some fail to explode on impact, leaving hazards that can maim civilians long after fighting ends.

Ukraine, for its part, gave Washington written assurances not to fire earlier US-supplied cluster rounds in civilian-populated urban areas, and US officials said Kyiv had kept to its use constraints.

Explore further

HRW’s allegations that Ukraine used banned mines are outrageous and play into Russia’s hands – human rights activists

What Washington says

A senior State Department official notified Congress that it is prepared to authorize the transfer, in documents printed in the Congressional Record on 6 August. Türkiye wants to shed older stock and focus its money on modern systems, the official said. Ukraine wants the munitions to bolster its fire support as it resists the invasion, the official added, noting that Ukraine already fields the same or nearly identical rounds. Congress can review the deal and pass a resolution of disapproval to block it.

Human Rights Watch argues the age and unreliability of the weapons make them a foreseeable hazard to civilians. Human Rights Watch deputy Washington director Nicole Widdersheim said the more-than-30-year-old munitions are inaccurate and prone to failure, and that their impact on civilians drove 112 countries to ban the weapon under the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Explore further

Human Rights Watch published map of Ukraine without Crimea – UNIAN

The same group has documented Russia's cluster attacks since 2022

Human Rights Watch opposes the weapon for all sides and has tracked Russia's use of it throughout the war. It documented repeated Russian cluster strikes since 2022, called a Russian attack on Lyman a possible war crime, and logged further strikes on civilians in its World Report chapters on Ukraine.

In each case, the group called on Russia to stop firing the weapon. On the Türkiye deal, it is asking Congress for something more concrete — to kill the transfer before the munitions reach Ukraine.

Ukraine has agreed to buy a batch of American-made ballistic missiles and rocket launchers from Türkiye, according to Militarnyi. The weapons sit in Turkish stockpiles and still need to clear a routine US review before they ship.

Ukraine's deep strikes run on a scarce, politically gated supply of Western missiles, which it burns through faster than allies' resupply.

What Ukraine is buying

US government paperwork lists 70 M39 ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) missiles and 12 M270 rocket launchers, plus tens of thousands of cluster munitions. The M270 is a tracked launcher that fires guided rockets and ATACMS, the heavier sibling of the wheeled HIMARS.

The cluster load adds 2,524 M26 rockets for the M270 launchers and 47,000 M509A1 shells for Ukraine's 2S7 Pion and M110 guns. Both scatter bomblets over a wide area. The deal surfaced in US State Department notifications in the US Congressional Record for 6 August 2026. Türkiye wants to shed older weapons and fund newer systems, the filings say. The shipment moves through Turkish, Bulgarian, and American exporters.

How the sale clears Washington

Explore further

Frontline report: ATACMS returns to battlefield as Ukraine destroys Russian training facility in Voronezh

Because these are US-origin weapons, Washington must sign off first. The filings note that US law forces the State Department to notify Congress once major equipment tops $14 million, or other articles and services top $50 million. There is no approval vote: if neither chamber blocks the sale within 15 days, US consent takes effect automatically. Both chambers sit in recess past that deadline — the House until 31 August 2026, the Senate until 14 September 2026.

What the M39 ATACMS is

The M39 is the original production model of ATACMS, flying about 165 kilometers, or roughly 103 miles—shorter than later versions Ukraine has fired. It steers by laser gyroscopes with no GPS correction, which makes it less precise. Instead, it carries a 560-kilogram cluster warhead of 950 M74 submunitions built to hit troops, unarmored vehicles, and air defenses.

Explore further

Ukraine marks invasion anniversary with ATACMS strikes on Russian command and supply lines (MAP)

How Ukraine uses ATACMS

Ukraine has fired ATACMS at Russian command posts, ammunition depots, and air defenses across occupied land and inside Russia. Even occasional launches force Russia to shift air defenses back from the front, easing pressure on Ukrainian troops. That firepower had gone quiet. Ukraine ran through its US-supplied ATACMS months ago, and US approvals came slowly. Buying 70 more through Türkiye lets Ukraine rebuild without waiting on fresh US aid.

A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers are voicing their opposition to the Trump administration's decision to halt shipments of some air defense missiles and other weapons previously promised to Kyiv.

The U.S. Defense Department (DOD) made the decision to pause the aid deliveries after conducting a review of U.S. munitions stocks, reportedly concerned about dwindling levels of artillery rounds, air defense missiles, and precision munitions.

Among the items being held back from Ukraine are over two dozen Patriot air defense missiles, over two dozen Stinger air-defense systems, precision artillery rounds, Hellfire missiles, drones, and more than 90 AIM air-to-air missiles that Ukraine launches from F-16 fighter jets. The Washington Post reported that the weapons were already in Poland being prepped for delivery to Ukraine.

Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, the co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, lambasted the decision in a post on X.

Fitzpatrick, a staunch ally of Ukraine who has previously visited the front line, said he "will be aggressively looking into this matter and will be demanding accountability."

"We must build up our own Defense Industrial Base here in the U.S. while simultaneously providing the needed assistance to our allies who are defending their freedom from brutal invading dictators. To not do both is unacceptable," the Congressman added.

In a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump about the reported halt of air defense deliveries, Fitzpartick requested an emergency briefing from the White House and DOD on the shipments.

"Ukraine's courage must continue to be met with action, and the United States must continue to lead with clarity and purpose," Fitzpartick wrote.

Another Republican House member, Rep. Michael McCaul, said he is examining "very intensely" whether the Pentagon’s freeze breaches legislation on aid to Ukraine passed in 2024, Politico reported.

As Trump continues to call for a ceasefire from Moscow, McCaul said that the decision comes "at the wrong time."

"If you want to get (Russian President Vladimir Putin) to the negotiating table in good faith, you have to put leverage and pressure on him, and that would be (Senator) Lindsey Graham’s economic sanctions and the flow of weapons," McCaul said. "If you take the flow of weapons out, yeah, then you’re not, you don’t have the leverage over Putin to negotiate."

Other Republican members of Congress have thus far dismissed concerns over the reported halts, stating that they are waiting to be briefed with additional information before speaking about the reports.

On the other side of the isle, Democratic lawmakers have also lambasted the real world implications of halting military aid for Ukraine.

Senator Richard Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in an interview that more civilians are "going to lose more lives, more people will be maimed and injured — more homes, hospitals, schools will be destroyed," calling the decision, "fallacious and maybe even disingenuous."

Since his inauguration in January, Trump has not approved any additional military aid packages for Ukraine. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also announced recently that the U.S. will reduce the total aid it sends to Ukraine in its upcoming defense budget.

In his evening address on July 2, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian and U.S. officials are working through the aid issue at a "working level," including discussions on critical air defense support. Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak held a late night phone call with Rep. Brian Mast, Chair of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Ukraine's Defense Ministry said it has not received any formal notification of delays or cancellations but has requested urgent consultations with U.S. defense officials.

The Foreign Ministry also summoned U.S. Charge d'Affaires John Ginkel, warning that "any hesitation" in military support would encourage further Russian aggression.

The Kremlin welcomed the decision, with spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying, "The fewer weapons that are supplied to Ukraine, the closer the end of the (war)."

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte expressed understanding of Washington's desire to safeguard its stockpiles but said, "Ukraine cannot do without all the support it can get."

Ukraine war latest: As Russia ramps up missile attacks, US halts promised air defense shipments to Ukraine

Key developments on July 2: * As Russia ramps up missile attacks, US halts promised air defense shipments to Ukraine * North Korea to send up to 30,000 more troops to aid Russia’s war against Ukraine, CNN reports * Ukraine denies another Russian claim of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast breakthrough, says small incursion repelled

The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk

A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers introduced a resolution in Congress demanding the return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia, according to a press release published on June 30.

Kyiv estimates that Russia has abducted or forcibly displaced at least 19,500 Ukrainian children since the outbreak of the full-scale invasion of 2022, and has deported them to Russia, Belarus, or the occupied territories of Ukraine.

The resolution, introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Democratic Congressman Gregory Meeks and Michael McCaul, a Republican chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, condemns the abductions and calls for the repatriation of children even before a potential peace deal.

Senators Chuck Grassley (Republican) and Amy Klobuchar (Democrat) introduced the resolution in the Senate.

"These children have been stripped of their national identity, adopted into Russian families, or indoctrinated as soldiers for the Kremlin," McCaul said in a statement.

"Russia’s mass-scale child abduction is nothing short of evil; the United States must demonstrate moral leadership by demanding every child be returned to his or her family in Ukraine before true peace can be achieved."

The Trump administration has previously cut funding for a Yale University-based Ukraine Conflict Observatory tracking the abduction of Ukrainian children. Nathaniel Raymond, the executive director of the Humanitarian Research Lab overseeing the effort, has said the operation would cease on July 1 due to the lack of funds.

Since its launch in May 2022, the observatory has compiled evidence of Russian war crimes, including the deportation of Ukrainian children, many of whom were sent to reeducation camps or adopted by Russian families.

The database suggested that the actual number of abducted Ukrainian children could be higher than the figure provided by Ukraine's Children of War database, placing it as high as 30,000. Over 1,360 children have been brought back home.

According to the resolution newly introduced in Congress, "Russia's abduction and Russification of Ukrainian children demonstrates the intent of the Government of the Russian Federation to erase the Ukrainian nation and identity."

The document also says that Russia's invasion "has significantly increased the risks of children being exposed to human trafficking and exploitation, child labor, sexual violence, hunger, injury, trauma, deprivation of education and shelter, and death."

Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff, called the resolution "an important step in support of justice and peace."

The abductions have been widely denounced as war crimes and violations of international law. In 2023, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and children’s rights ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova over their roles in the deportation of Ukrainian minors.

Smashing previous monthly record, Russia launches 5,337 kamikaze drones against Ukraine during June

Russia launched a record 5,337 Shahed-type drones against Ukraine in June, according to data from the Ukrainian Air Force and Dragon Capital, smashing the previous record of 4,198 set in March. Russia’s bombardments, a fact of life after three years of full-scale war, have intensified dramatically in May

The Kyiv IndependentYuliia Taradiuk

Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink announced on June 18 that she is running for Congress from Michigan's 7th district, pledging to oppose U.S. President Donald Trump.

"I've dedicated my life to protecting democracy and fighting for freedom. It's why we stood up to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and why I spoke out against Trump," Brink wrote on X.

"My next mission: fighting for what's right here at home."

Brink resigned from her post on April 10, and in a May 16 op-ed in the Detroit Free Press, publicly confirmed her departure was driven by disagreement with the Trump administration's stance on Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine.

"I just came home to Michigan from three years in the toughest job of my life," she wrote. "I could no longer in good faith carry out the administration's policy and felt it was my duty to step down."

Brink accused the Trump administration of pressuring Ukraine rather than holding Russia accountable, calling that approach "dangerous and immoral."

"I cannot stand by while a country is invaded, a democracy bombarded, and children killed with impunity," she wrote. "Peace at any price is not peace at all — it is appeasement."

Elections for the representative of Michigan's 7th district will take place in November 2026.

Join our community

Support independent journalism in Ukraine. Join us in this fight.

Support Us

Trump, who began his second term in January, pledged to end the war within 100 days. That deadline has passed with no deal. He has alternated between blaming both sides for the conflict and claiming a breakthrough is still possible.

Despite repeatedly expressing frustration with Putin, the U.S. president has continued to avoid placing additional sanctions on Moscow, even as the Kremlin refuses to agree to a ceasefire.

Brink's relationship with Ukraine's leadership frayed in April after the U.S. Embassy issued what was seen as a muted response to a deadly Russian missile strike on Kryvyi Rih that killed 20 civilians.

"Horrified that tonight a ballistic missile struck near a playground and restaurant in Kryvyi Rih," Brink posted on X following a Russian missile attack. "This is why the war must end."

President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized the message.

"Unfortunately, the response from the U.S. Embassy is surprisingly disappointing — such a strong country, such a strong people, and yet such a weak reaction," he wrote on April 5.

Julie S. Davis, the new U.S. Charge d'Affaires to Ukraine, arrived in Kyiv on May 5.

Zelensky may reportedly skip NATO summit over uncertainty about Trump’s attendance

According to the Guardian, some in Kyiv are unsure if President Volodymyr Zelensky’s presence at the summit would be worthwhile without a confirmed meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.

The Kyiv IndependentAnna Fratsyvir