Cluster munition

• Western news sources regularly report on civilian deaths on the Ukrainian side of the front lines of the war in Ukraine.
• In May 2023, the United Nations reported 8,791 civilians have died and 14,815 have been injured in Ukraine since February 2022.
• Exceptions to this — when the western media has widely reported on casualties behind Russian lines — have largely been when Russian forces have been accused of atrocities.

Civilian casualties prior to 2022

• The war in Ukraine precedes February 2022, so statistics amassed since then aren’t telling the whole story of the conflict.
• In the West, the war is largely perceived to have begun in February 2022 when Vladimir Putin’s government launched what it described as a “special military operation” and invaded Ukraine.
• In January 2022, the United Nations recorded 3,106 conflict-related civilian deaths and as many as 7,000 wounded in fighting in Ukraine up to that point.

Growing threats to civilians

• While many of these weapons have good accuracy, they nonetheless are too often fired by both sides on the basis of inaccurate or flawed intelligence.
• Even after the fighting has moved on from a particular area, the war leaves behind a legacy of unexploded munitions.
• Cluster munitions are another particular threat to civilians long after the fighting has moved on from a given area.

Cluster bomb use likely to increase

• The United States — also not a signatory to the convention — has recently decided to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions from its own stocks.
• That decision can only increase their use by both Ukraine and Russia, meaning that civilians on both sides of the front line will inevitably fall victim to unexploded munitions over time.
• The U.S. claims the munitions it plans to provide Ukraine will leave behind no more than three per cent of the munitions unexploded.