Terror Weapons

  Since its invasion of Ukraine, the Russian military has used cluster bombs in attacks.  Russia’s use of cluster munitions could be a signal of what’s to come, especially if its military continues to face stiffer opposition than expected. Experts worry that Russia may enter a new phase of the invasion, one specifically designed to terrorize and demoralize Ukrainian civilians. 

 The strikes have resulted in civilian deaths. Their use in these instances may ultimately qualify as a war crime, given the indiscriminate nature of the explosives, as well as the reasonable expectation that they could fail to detonate immediately, causing risks to civilians for months and years to come. Cluster munitions are a category of weapon that covers any delivery system that opens in midair to scatter tens or hundreds of “bomblets” that rain down over a dispersed area. They can be dropped from bombers or fired from artillery, and are a controversial weapon even by the standards of modern warfare. The bomblets — which are similar to landmines — are not precise and do not discriminate between soldiers and civilians, by definition. In many cases, the smaller bombs fail to explode on impact

 Human Right Watch and also Amnesty International have identified the use of cluster munitions. Since 2010, 110 countries have joined the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which bans their use, while another 13 are signatories that haven’t ratified it yet. Some estimates have found that as many as 85 percent of casualties from cluster bombs since the treaty’s enactment have been civilians.

The United States, Russia and China have not joined in the ban. Neither has Ukraine. 

The reality is that when cluster bombs have been used, in practice, they are used against civilians. They kill indiscriminately. And when they fail to explode in the heat of battle, they kill civilians years later. Russia’s use of the weapons is horrific, unjustifiable and inexcusable.

Russia's Use of Cluster Bombs Should Spur a Global Recommitment to Banning Them (truthout.org)