Ms Docherty said that children are the most common victims, because they're inclined to pick up unexploded bombs and play with them.īut Dr Jack Watling and Professor Justin Bronk, from the Royal United Services Institute, argue the threat to civilians is "negligible" considering how many minefields Russia has already laid down in Ukraine. "They cause civilian casualties at the time of attack because they cannot discriminate between soldiers and civilians." rationale for transferring them weak on multiple fronts," she said. "Having witnessed the gruesome impact of cluster munitions first-hand, I find the U.S.
The UK is one of those countries - but Russia, Ukraine and the US have not signed it.Īnnouncing the US would send cluster munitions to Ukraine, President Joe Biden called it a "difficult decision" but said he had to act as "the Ukrainians are running out of ammunition".Īt the time, Bonnie Docherty, a senior researcher at the Human Rights Watch's Arms Division, warned the decision would "exacerate a humanitarian crisis." More than 100 countries have signed a protocol to not use them. While cluster bombs are not illegal under international law when used on military targets, using them on civilians is a war crime.
Military expert Professor Michael Clarke has previously told Sky News cluster munitions are "on the border between conventional bombs and landmines". If Denis Pushilin's claims are confirmed, it would mark a fairly significant moment in Ukraine's use of the hugely controversial weapons. Let's get a bit more on our previous post - the Kremlin-backed official's claims that Ukrainian cluster bombs have killed a civilian in occupied Donetsk.
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