A cluster bomb, banned under international law, was used in the Kramatorsk train station massacre. This was claimed by the BBC, which said it found “clear evidence” of the use of a cluster bomb in the missile that hit the station packed with refugees trying to leave the east of the country on April 8. According to Ukraine, 57 people died in the massacre. Which has not ratified the treaty banning the use of these weapons, as well as Russia. As for the TotchkaU missile hit, it is currently in the possession of Ukrainian forces and the rebels of the proRussian republics and was not decommissioned by Russia in 2020, despite announcements.
Cluster bomb tests in Kramatorsk
Photo by: BBC
What evidence does the BBC provide for the use of cluster bombs? First, the statements of his war correspondents who visited the station after the attack and found evidence of the use of a cluster bomb. This also includes the statements of people who were in the station when the rocket arrived and spoke of several explosions. That is, those who spread the fragments around the site of the main impact, as happens in these cases, leaving unmistakable marks on the ground and buildings. As happened in this case. Totchka himself can be equipped with a warhead that carries 50 and can detonate on impact. Russia denied using cluster bombs in Donetsk and Lugansk, but the UN called the reports “credible”. Then there are the military experts. Sidharth Kausjal, who works at the Royal United Services Institute, told British media that the impact mark seen in the footage matches the use of a Sovietera 9N24 Cluster submunition that can be carried by the missile. The BBC also tried to identify the area from which the rocket was launched but so far have been unable to.
