Human Rights Watch called on Russia and Ukraine to stop using cluster bombs and urged the United States not to supply the ammunition to Kyiv, as the Biden administration is poised to include the controversial weapons in a new military aid program.
Russian and Ukrainian forces have used cluster bombs, which shatter in the air and release a large number of small bombs over a wide area.
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The bombs are designed to detonate when they hit the ground, but do not always detonate, posing a risk to civilians for years. The weapons, first used in World War II, were banned by more than 120 countries under the Convention on Cluster Munitions in 2008. Russia, Ukraine and the United States have all refused to sign the treaty.
kyiv has urged members of the US Congress to pressure the White House to approve sending cluster bombs. US officials say cluster bombs would be effective for Ukraine against Russian forces in strong defensive positions.
The White House said on Thursday the supply of cluster munitions to Ukraine was “actively considered”, and U.S. officials told Reuters the administration is expected to announce the new cluster munition assistance program on Friday. armament which will include these weapons.
Ukrainian and Russian forces have used cluster munitions that have caused scores of civilian deaths and serious injuries, Human Rights Watch said in a report Thursday, calling on both sides to immediately stop using these weapons “by nature blind”.
Related: Russia uses cluster bombs to kill Ukrainian civilians, analysis finds
Last year, Ukraine fired cluster munitions into Russian-held areas in and near the eastern Ukrainian town of Izium, causing widespread casualties among Ukrainian civilians , the rights group said, citing interviews with more than 100 residents, witnesses and local emergency personnel. Ukrainian attacks killed at least eight civilians and injured at least 15 civilians in Izium, he added.
The group has previously reported that Russia’s use of cluster bombs in Ukraine resulted in the deaths of dozens of civilians, and the United Nations Human Rights Council has also documented the use of such bombs by two parts.
“Cluster munitions used by Russia and Ukraine are killing civilians now and will continue to do so for many years to come,” said Mary Wareham, acting director of armaments at Human Rights Watch. “Both sides should immediately stop using them and not try to get more of these indiscriminate weapons.”
Transferring cluster bombs to Ukraine would inevitably cause long-term suffering for civilians, the group said. He warned that the use of cluster munitions in areas inhabited by civilians constitutes an indiscriminate attack in violation of international humanitarian law and possibly a war crime.