U.S. decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine "irresponsible, dangerous": Croatian analyst

This photo taken on Feb. 3, 2023 shows the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

This decision could potentially be a war crime, Plese said, noting that the United States "does not respect international conventions and agreements and behaves only according to its own interests."

ZAGREB, July 11 (Xinhua) -- The decision by the United States to send cluster munitions to Ukraine is "irresponsible and dangerous" and will certainly escalate the Ukraine crisis, Mladen Plese, a leading Croatian political analyst, told Xinhua on Tuesday.

This decision could potentially be a war crime, Plese said, noting that the United States "does not respect international conventions and agreements and behaves only according to its own interests."

Volunteers deliver life supplies to people trapped by floods in the Kherson region, June 9, 2023. The Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant was destroyed on Tuesday, causing a decrease in the dam water level and massive flooding in nearby areas. (Photo by Peter Druk/Xinhua)

In addition to escalating the crisis, the U.S. move could trigger the ultimate danger of nuclear weapons being put into use, "which would be a disaster for the whole world," Plese added, stressing that the only possible solution for the crisis is that all concerned parties have to sit down and negotiate.

The United States announced on Friday that the cluster bombs will be a part of a new military assistance package worth 800 million U.S. dollars to Ukraine. The move has elicited sharp criticism worldwide.

People inspect the aftermath of shelling of the city market in Donetsk, Dec. 12, 2022. (Photo by Victor/Xinhua)

Though the highly contentious weapon is widely banned by many countries, including key U.S. allies, Washington has continued to hold these munitions in its arsenal and vowed to help Ukraine destroy what it called "heavily dug-in" Russian forces.