Human Rights Watch called on Russia and Ukraine to stop using cluster bombs and urged the U.S. not to supply such munitions to Kiev, The Guardian reports. The newspaper explains that the statement was made amid reports that the Biden administration is ready to include cluster bombs in the new package of military assistance to Kiev.
According to the newspaper, cluster bombs are designed to detonate when they hit the ground, but they do not always explode, creating a danger to civilians for years to come. These weapons, first used during World War II, have been banned by more than 120 countries under the Convention on Cluster Munitions. At the same time, Russia, Ukraine and the U.S. refused to sign the document, the publication notes.
Kiev urged members of the U.S. Congress to put pressure on the White House to approve the sending of cluster bombs to Ukraine. U.S. officials, for their part, say the cluster bombs would be effective in Ukraine against Russian troops in strong defensive positions.
The White House said Thursday that the provision of cluster munitions to Ukraine is under “active consideration,” and U.S. officials said the administration is expected to announce a new weapons assistance package that would include the weapons on Friday.
Human Rights Watch, in a report released Thursday, called on Russia and Ukraine to immediately stop using “inherently indiscriminate” weapons.
The organization said, citing interviews with more than a hundred local residents, that last year Ukraine fired cluster munitions rockets into Russian-controlled areas in and around the city of Izyum, causing numerous civilian casualties. The Ukrainian shelling killed at least eight civilians and injured at least 15 people in Izyum, the document said.
The transfer of cluster bombs to Ukraine will inevitably lead to prolonged civilian suffering, the group said. The report’s authors warn that the use of cluster munitions in areas with civilian populations makes the attack indiscriminate in violation of international humanitarian law and possibly constitutes a war crime.
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