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Russia hits Ukraine’s Kramatorsk with cluster munitions, killing two: officials

19.03.2023 07:30
Russian strikes killed two people and injured 10 in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk on Saturday afternoon, regional officials said, accusing Moscow of using cluster bombs in the attack.
Russian strikes killed two people and injured 10 in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk on Saturday afternoon, regional officials said, accusing Moscow of using cluster bombs in the attack.
Russian strikes killed two people and injured 10 in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk on Saturday afternoon, regional officials said, accusing Moscow of using cluster bombs in the attack.PAP/Abaca/AA/ABACA

Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of the Donetsk region, said that Russian forces targeted Bernatsky Park in the south of the city and a funeral service, killing at least two civilians and wounding a further ten, according to news outlets.

The strikes damaged “a dozen residential buildings and several cars,” the official added, as quoted by the Ukrainska Pravda website. 

In a post on the social messaging app Telegram, Kyrylenko said: "Ukrainian Kramatorsk is one of the biggest irritants for Russians. They purposefully hit the city, trying to kill as many of its civilians as possible," as quoted by The Kyiv Independent website.

Agence France-Presse reporters said they heard about 10 explosions go off almost simultaneously and saw a woman die at the scene from her wounds, Britain’s The Guardian newspaper reported. 

Soon after, another round of explosions was heard in a neighbourhood 2km away, according to The Guardian.

Meanwhile, at least six civilians were wounded in Kostyantynivka after Russian forces shelled the city with cluster munitions from Uragan multiple rocket launcher systems, Kyrylenko also reported on Saturday. 

Cluster munitions

Over 100 countries prohibit the use of cluster bombs, but Russia continues to use the munitions, which release small explosive bombs and indiscriminately harm civilians, The Kyiv Independent noted.

Russia’s use of cluster munitions has been “extensive,” according to international observers, an accusation that Moscow denies, the website added.

The Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) “prohibits under any circumstances the use, development, production, acquisition, stockpiling and transfer of cluster munitions, as well as the assistance or encouragement of anyone to engage in prohibited activities,” according to the United Nations. 

The treaty, which entered into force in 2010, so far has been signed by 111 countries, officials said.

Russia is not a signatory of CCM, but it is obliged by international humanitarian law to avoid the use of cluster munitions, The Kyiv Independent reported. 

Sunday is day 389 of Russia’s war on Ukraine. 

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Source: PAP, Ukrainska Pravda, The Kyiv Independent , The Guardian, un.org