 
The use of cluster munitions during the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been recorded by a number of eyewitnesses and journalists, as well as representatives of the UN, humanitarian and public organizations. In particular, the head of the UN Human Rights Council, Michelle Bachelet, reported on March 30 at least 24 cases since the beginning of the invasion. As of July 1, hundreds of attacks by Russian forces with cluster munitions have already been recorded in the settlements of the Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, Luhansk, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson and Chernihiv regions. 215 civilians are known to have been killed in these shellings and 474 injured, many of which may go unreported. Both Russia as well as Ukraine have used cluster munitions during the conflict, however, Russian use has been extensive while Ukrainian use has been more limited.
Neither Russia nor Ukraine are signatories of the 2008 convention limiting the use of cluster munitions. The use of such weapons against civilians violates the principles of humanitarian law and therefore constitutes a war crime. Reports of Russian attacks have prompted the International Criminal Court to launch an investigation into the commission of war crimes in Ukrainian territory.
Background.
Cluster munitions are explosive devices filled with smaller projectiles or submunitions. Such rockets or artillery shells usually explode while still in the air or on impact with a target, scattering submunitions in a radius of up to 400 meters. Shrapnel hits nearby buildings and people in range. The use of cluster munitions in civilian areas makes the attack indiscriminate, which violates the foundations of international humanitarian law. The use of such munitions has been criticized by human rights groups and a number of governments.
Cluster munitions dropped too low can become lodged in trees or on soft ground. Of the 7 thousand charges fired by one rocket launcher, about 2% do not detonate. Such unexploded ordnance in the future pose a threat to civilians in the conflict zone, their detection and detonation are costly. A significant part of the submunitions also does not detonate on impact: according to various estimates, 20-40%. Therefore, the use of cluster munitions, even outside of populated areas, is of serious concern to the international community, as it is associated with a long-term indiscriminate danger. Projectiles can explode if picked up or moved by children, farmers, or other civilians. These risks sometimes persist for years until specialists find and properly dispose of such explosives.
The Convention on Cluster Munitions, which entered into force in 2010, bans their use due to the potential danger to civilians. More than 120 countries have signed the pact, and, according to the Cluster Monitor Coalition, in more than twelve years of its existence, 36 states have destroyed almost 1.5 million cluster munitions containing about 178 million submunitions. However, 110 countries, including Russia and Ukraine, have not ratified the UN-backed treaty. Russia continues to produce cluster munitions and used at least two new types of them during the invasion (along with old stocks). As of August 2022, cluster munitions are not used anywhere except on the territory of Ukraine.
Regardless of the participation of governments in the initiative to limit cluster weapons, their use violates the principles of humanitarian law. Such attacks are indiscriminate and usually involve disproportionate civilian casualties relative to the military advantage gained. Both the Russian authorities and the Ukrainian authorities are subject to international legal norms that limit the methods of warfare, in particular the ban on indiscriminate attacks. If the army commander does not distinguish between civilians and soldiers, as well as between civilian and military objects, it's considered a war crime.
Nevertheless, both sides of the conflict continue to use cluster munitions. For 2022, both Russia and Ukraine had stockpiles of Smerch and Uragan artillery rockets equipped with cluster warheads. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, most cluster munitions in stock are over 20 years old, making them more unreliable and increasing the risk of civilian casualties.
In 2014 and 2015, Russian-backed militias used cluster munitions during battles in eastern Ukraine, according to Human Rights Watch investigations. As weapons, surface 300-mm Smerch rockets and 220-mm Uragan cluster munitions were used, which deliver 9N210 and 9N235 anti-personnel fragmentation submunitions. As a result of attacks in seven villages controlled by the Ukrainian side, at least 13 civilians were killed, including two children. Attacks have also been recorded in territory held by the LPR and DPR, although both Ukrainian and Russian authorities condemned and denied the use of cluster munitions in populated areas. Ukrainian authorities later investigated the use of cluster weapons by their own troops, but international activists called it insufficient and inadequate.
Use by Russia.
Although the Russian side denies accusations of using cluster munitions in residential areas, international and non-governmental organizations have reported such attacks. By the beginning of April, Ukrainian law enforcement agencies were reporting cluster munition shelling in Kharkiv, Sumy, Kyiv, Donetsk, Odesa, Kherson and Mykolaiv regions. By July 1, Cluster Munition Coalition reports shelling in Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson and Chernihiv regions. Testimony from independent weapons experts confirmed that a number of cluster rounds were dropped on residential buildings and civilian infrastructure. This is proved by photos and videos of eyewitnesses of the events, as well as journalists on the ground. Much of this data was collected by Ukrainian prosecutors and passed on to the International Criminal Court. In early March, an investigation began into the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine. An August 2022 Cluster Munition Coalition report noted that Russia has used cluster munitions extensively during conflict, inflicting hundreds of civilian casualties and damaging civilian infrastructure.
The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission confirmed that during the first month of the war in 2022, the Russian military used cluster weapons in Ukrainian settlements at least 16 times. At the end of March, the head of the UN Human Rights Council, Michelle Bachelet, reported at least 24 cases since the invasion began. The agency indicated that the attacks damaged medical facilities, including 50 hospitals. As of August 2022, there have already been hundreds of cases of Russian use of cluster munitions in at least 10 out of 24 regions of Ukraine. It is known that 215 civilians were killed and 474 wounded during these attacks, and many cases may remain unknown. At least 7 people were killed and 3 were injured by submunitions that did not explode immediately. The shelling of cluster munitions mainly affected civilian infrastructure: residential buildings, hospitals, schools, playgrounds, in one case a cemetery.
During the invasion of Ukraine, the Russian army used at least 6 types of cluster munitions: missiles for multiple rocket launchers "Hurricane", "Smerch", "Tornado-S", missile systems "Tochka" and "Iskander-M", as well as RBC bombs -500 with PTAB-1M submunitions. Smerch missiles were used for 72 submunitions, as well as other charges for 50 submunitions. According to the Russian manufacturer, missiles used in residential areas can contain up to 1.45 kg of explosive and scatter into about 316 fragments. The most large-scale Russian attacks with weapons include:
In addition, it was reported about the use of cluster munitions in the residential sector of the city of Pokrovsk (Donetsk region, March 4), Krasnogorovka (Donetsk region, March 27), Slavyansk (Donetsk region, April 22), and in the villages of Kiinka and Pavlovka (Chernihiv region, February 28).
International law prohibits deliberate attacks on civilians or civilian infrastructure. The Russians denied the accusations, assuring that it strikes "only at military facilities and exclusively with high-precision weapons." Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the accusations against Russia are “a duck, this is a duck for sure”. However, analysts at the international non-governmental organization Bellingcat considered it “highly unlikely” that the Ukrainian side would use explosive weapons in their own cities.
Use by Ukraine.
In early March 2022, "The New York Times" reported the first use of a cluster munition by Ukrainian troops during the invasion near the farm Husarivka. It landed close to the Russian army's headquarters. According to the report, nobody died in that strike. An August 2022 Cluster Munition Coalition report noted that Ukraine has used cluster munitions in a limited capacity.
Russia accused Ukraine of using cluster munitions in strikes at Belgorod that killed at least 21 people and wounded dozens more on December 30 2023.
In March 2023, Reuters reported that Ukraine sought to procure CBU-100 cluster bombs from the U.S. stockpile in order to dismantle them, extracting the submunitions and use them as individual bomblets to be dropped from drones against enemy armour in a targeted manner. It also petitioned the U.S. for deliver of 155 mm artillery cluster shells to be used in the east of the country against mass infantry assaults such as had notably been employed by Russian forces during the Battle of Bakhmut. In June 2023, Reuters reported that the U.S. military had assessed that cluster munitions would be useful in Ukraine's effort to push back Russian occupation forces. U.S. president Joe Biden approved the provision of cluster munitions to Ukraine on 6 July, bypassing U.S. law prohibiting the transfer of cluster munitions with a failure rate greater than one percent. According to President Biden the decision was made as a result of the US running low on conventional 155mm ammunition to supply the Ukrainians whose ammunition stockpiles are also running low.
In late 2023, Ukrainian troops reported that their cluster munitions were becoming increasingly ineffective against Russian forces. A Ukrainian platoon commander on the Bakhmut front told "The New York Times" that the Russians were adapting to Ukraine's usage of cluster munitions, assaulting in smaller infantry units and digging their trenches deeper. However the so-called "meat wave" tactic of sending many small units in at one time have cost the Russians significant casualties.
Some U.S. military professionals contend that over 50% of all Russian casualties in the war have been caused by cluster munitions. From July 2023 until October 2024, it is estimated that at least 350,000 Russian casualties were caused by cluster munitions. According to John Nagl (Oct 2024), "cluster munitions from 155mm howitzers, HIMARS launchers and now F-16s" are winning the war for Ukraine.
Unattributed attacks.
On 14 March 2022, a Tochka-U missile hit an area in the center of Donetsk, controlled by the DNR. Scattered debris and striking elements hit the civilian population. The Investigative Committee of Russia declared 23 dead and 37 wounded. Ukraine and Russia put the blame on each other.
Consequences and reactions.
Numerous evidence collected by international organizations and journalists in occupied or besieged Ukrainian cities confirms the use of cluster munitions by Russia against civilians. On March 3, 2022, the International Criminal Court launched an investigation into the fact that the Russian army committed war crimes and genocide on Ukrainian territory. It could officially confirm the use of cluster munitions in residential areas. At the same time, many experts argued that the invasion itself is already a crime, since it falls under the definition of an aggressive war.
In connection with reports of violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in Ukraine, the UN Council announced on March 4, 2022 the creation of a Commission of Inquiry into the events in the country. The members of the body, established initially for one year, were required to "establish the facts, circumstances and root causes of any violations and abuses" against human rights during the escalation of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. The independent international committee included investigators from Norway, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, who were assisted by the agency's observers at the scene. On March 11, the UN Human Rights Office confirmed that it had received "credible reports" of several instances of cluster munitions being used by Russian forces. By the end of the month, representatives of the organization had already reported 24 established attacks.
In early March, the use of cluster munitions by Russian troops in Ukraine was condemned by representatives of the European Union, the Secretary General of NATO, as well as the authorities of the United Kingdom as a country-president of the Convention on Cluster Munitions. They called the actions of the Russian military "a flagrant violation of international law". In mid-March, the representative of the US President to the UN accused Russia of using banned weapons in Ukraine, including cluster munitions and vacuum bombs. Concern about the use of cluster munitions against the civilian population was expressed by the official representative of the UN Human Rights Office, the Deputy