For months, President Biden has been wrestling with one of the most vexing questions in the war in Ukraine: whether to risk letting Ukrainian forces run out of the artillery rounds they desperately need to fight Russia, or agree to ship them cluster munitions — widely banned weapons known to cause grievous injury to civilians, especially children. On Friday, the Biden administration announced that it would send the weapons, which have been outlawed by many of Washington's closest allies.

David E. Sanger, a White House and national security correspondent for The New York Times, tells the story behind the president’s contentious decision.

Guest: David E. Sanger, a White House and national security correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• With Ukraine burning through stockpiles of conventional artillery, Mr. Biden concluded that he had little choice but to provide the weapons.
• Read The New York Times Editorial Board’s piece on “the flawed moral logic of sending cluster munitions to Ukraine.”

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

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