KRAMATORSK, UKRAINE Governor of Ukraine’s Donetsk region Pavlo Kyrylenko accused the Russia of the use of cluster munitions in the bomb attack that killed two civilians and wounded eight in the city of Kramatorsk on Saturday. Reporters from Agence France Presse heard of ten nearsimultaneous explosions characteristic of this type of weapon and said they saw a woman die at the scene from her injuries.
“It was a deliberate attack. They hit the city on purpose and tried to kill as many civilians as possible,” said Kyrylenko, who also reported the destruction of several buildings in the city.
Continued after the ad
Cluster munitions, also known as “cluster bombs,” have been banned due to their low detonation rate and lack of accuracy. Dropped by hundreds of rockets, mortars, or other large bombs, they are spread over wide areas, often contaminating productive lands and populated civilian zones.
Most of these “submunitions”, almost always small, like batteries or tin cans, do not explode when they hit the ground and begin to act as small antipersonnel mines that can cause death and maiming for decades.
Most of the victims are children who, out of curiosity and ignorance, touch the bombs, lose their lives or live with permanent mutilations.
The Oslo Treaty, which came into force in 2010, prohibits the use of this ammunition. With the pact, more than a hundred signatory countries gave up the use of this type of bomb. However, many countries including Brazil, the US, Russia, China and India, all manufacturers, chose not to join the treaty.
“Russia continues to unleash terror. The shelling of Kramatorsk with cluster munitions killed two people and injured eight, three of them seriously,” Kramatorsk Mayor Alexander Goncharenko said on Facebook.
Kramatorsk, a city that had a population of about 150,000 before the Russian invasion more than a year ago, is near Bakhmut, which has been the epicenter of fighting between Russians and Ukrainians in recent months. /AFP and AP