The Cluster Munition Coalition reported that banned weapons have caused over 1,200 civilian casualties in Ukraine since Russia began its expanded invasion in February 2022. Ukraine recorded the world's highest annual cluster munition casualty figures during this period. Russia deployed these weapons extensively from the conflict's first day, while Ukraine has also used them against Russian targets. The coalition documented 193 Ukrainian casualties in 2024 among 314 global incidents.
Coalition monitors believe actual casualty numbers far exceed official tallies due to incomplete reporting from approximately 40 attacks lacking specific casualty data. These weapons scatter numerous bomblets across wide areas before many fail to detonate, creating long-term hazards similar to landmines. Neither combatant nation has signed the 2008 Convention prohibiting cluster munition use, production, and transfer. Myanmar and Syria represent the only other countries where attacks occurred last year.
The United States transferred cluster munitions to Ukrainian forces through seven separate shipments despite not joining the international treaty. Lithuania withdrew from the convention in March 2024, marking the first such departure and raising concerns about weakening international humanitarian law protecting civilians.
Coalition monitors believe actual casualty numbers far exceed official tallies due to incomplete reporting from approximately 40 attacks lacking specific casualty data. These weapons scatter numerous bomblets across wide areas before many fail to detonate, creating long-term hazards similar to landmines. Neither combatant nation has signed the 2008 Convention prohibiting cluster munition use, production, and transfer. Myanmar and Syria represent the only other countries where attacks occurred last year.
The United States transferred cluster munitions to Ukrainian forces through seven separate shipments despite not joining the international treaty. Lithuania withdrew from the convention in March 2024, marking the first such departure and raising concerns about weakening international humanitarian law protecting civilians.
