The Russians shelled a village in Zaporizhzhia twice with cluster munitions: one person died

On the afternoon of March 4, the Russian army twice shelled a village in the Zaporizhzhia region with cluster munitions.

This was reported by the head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration, Ivan Fedorov: “The Russians twice shelled the village of Rizdvyanka in the Zaporizhzhia District of the Zaporizhia Region with cluster munitions. The second shelling took the life of a civilian.”

It is worth noting that the use of cluster munitions is prohibited by international humanitarian law, because they belong to the category of weapons that cause excessive damage or have an indiscriminate effect.

Yes, cluster munitions threaten the civilian population, because they hit a wide area, without distinguishing the military from civilians. Furthermore, not all cluster munitions explode immediately upon impact: about 25% of submunitions can remain on the ground and pose a danger to civilians for months, years or even decades after a conflict. Some mini-projectiles attract children because they have a bright color or look like earrings or cylinders. Due to their small size, projectiles may not be noticed by farmers working the field.

However, Russia did not join the 2008 convention prohibiting the circulation of cluster munitions.

Since the beginning of the full-scale war and as of August 2023, more than 200 Ukrainian civilians have been killed by Russian cluster shells.