The human rights organization Amnesty International accuses Russia of repeatedly using cluster munitions in residential areas. In most countries of the world, these types of bombs are even banned.
According to research by Amnesty International, Russian troops have killed numerous civilians in the eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv by using cluster munitions.
“In Kharkiv, people were killed in their homes and on the streets while they visited playgrounds with their children, commemorated their relatives in cemeteries, while queuing for aid deliveries or while shopping,” reported Janine Uhlmannsiek from the German branch of Amnesty International, citing one new report entitled “Anyone can die at any time”.
The human rights organization accused Russia of repeatedly using cluster munitions and unguided missiles in residential areas and playgrounds since the start of the war of aggression in Ukraine. Uhlmannsiek demanded that those responsible for these attacks should be brought to justice and that the injured and the families of the victims should be compensated. Cluster munitions are rockets or bombs that burst while still in the air over the target, releasing a large number of small explosive devices.
Ukrainian troops attack from residential areas
Conversely, according to Amnesty International, Ukrainian troops often launch attacks from residential areas, putting the lives of local civilians at risk. “This violates international humanitarian law, but in no way justifies the repeated indiscriminate attacks by Russian troops,” the human rights organization said.
The head of the medical department of the Kharkiv regional military administration told Amnesty International that 606 civilians had been killed and 1,248 injured in the region since the war began. Most of the attacks investigated by Amnesty International resulted in numerous deaths in a large radius.
Cluster bombs are outlawed in most countries around the world. More than a hundred countries already belong to a convention against cluster munitions that came into force in 2010, including Germany. However, Russia and Ukraine have not signed the agreement.
