According to a report by the NGO published on Sunday, the Russian army makes extensive use of these weapons, especially in Kharkiv, the country’s second city, in March. Bombs yet prohibited by the Oslo Convention.
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The first documented strikes date back to March 24, exactly one month after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Six people are killed in a queue to receive humanitarian aid in Kharkiv, the country’s second city. The other targets, according to witnesses, are playgrounds or cemeteries.
>> War in Ukraine: what to remember from the day of June 12
Each time, the same story: a passing rocket and multiple explosions characteristic of cluster bombs. These are the testimonies revealed by a report by Amnesty International, Sunday, June 12, stating the widespread use of these weapons prohibited by the Oslo Convention.
We documented seven cluster munition strikes in different neighborhoods all over the city, where they found fins and pellets/fragments of cluster submunitions, as well as fragments of Uragan rockets known to carry such munitions. pic.twitter.com/ClU1YDtlWY
— Oksana Pokalchuk (@OPokalchuk) June 13, 2022
Donatella Rovera, war crimes specialist for the NGO, went in person to collect material evidence: “In practically every strike location, we found the remains of the shells that had been used. This allowed us to establish with absolute precision which weapon had been used, therefore Ouragan rockets. Each contains between 30 and 32 sous -ammunition”. These produce very specific bursts and damage to very characteristic buildings, specifies Donatella Rovera. Its teams also analyzed the trajectories, crossed the data with the geolocation of the troops present at the time. And there is little doubt, according to Amnesty International: Russia is suspected of having carried out these shootings.
We investigated the indiscriminate strikes on the city of Kharkiv.
Russian forces have knowingly attacked civilian areas killing hundreds and maiming hundreds more.
Today, the life of Ukrainians looks like this. https://t.co/muOgCIT33p
— Amnesty International France (@amnestyfrance) June 13, 2022
Russian forces continued throughout the weekend to pillage Svedoronesk, the strategic city of Donbass, in the east of the country. Ukraine fears an enemy offensive on Monday or Tuesday in which Vladimir Putin’s men would put all their reserves. The Russian army announced on Sunday that it had destroyed supplies of Western arms, vital for kyiv, in the west of the country.