Horrifying Impact of Cluster Munitions Dropped on People

Cluster munitions can have a horrifying impact on civilians "immediately and long after" a war has ended, one charity has told Newsweek as the United States sending the controversial weapons to Ukraine divided Kyiv's allies.

On Friday, the U.S. said it was supplying dual-purpose improved conventional munitions (DPICM) to Ukraine. These are a form of cluster bomb that disperses submunitions over a wide area, and bomblets "explode on impact and can kill everything in an area of several football fields," Guy McCardle, managing editor of Special Operations Forces Report (SOFREP), previously told Newsweek.

Military experts say they can be an extremely effective weapon, particularly against infantry forces, but can pose a danger to civilians. Ukraine had long lobbied for the munitions, and said on Friday they would "significantly help us to de-occupy our territories while saving the lives of the Ukrainian soldiers," adding that Russia has used these bombs in Ukraine "from day 1."

U.S. President Joe Biden told CNN that Washington had made the "difficult" decision to provide the weapons because "the Ukrainians are running out of ammunition." Cluster munitions are banned in more than 120 countries under the Oslo Convention, although the U.S., Ukraine and Russia are not signatories to the convention prohibiting their production, use or stockpiling.

But several countries sending military aid to Ukraine balked at Washington's decision, including the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Spain and Canada. Ottawa said in a statement that it was "committed to putting an end to the effects cluster munitions have on civilians—particularly children."

Civilians accounted for 97 percent of all casualties related to cluster munitions, with 144 people known to have been killed or injured by the munitions in 2021, according to the Cluster Munition Monitor.

"Cluster munitions, legally banned weapons kill civilians, immediately and long after the conflict has ended," Alma Taslidžan, Disarmament and Protection of Civilians Advocacy Manager at the Humanity & Inclusion charity, told Newsweek on Tuesday.

Bomblets can come in different shapes and sizes, and will therefore have different impacts on the human body and will more severely injury children, she said.

"Type of injuries will also depend on how these bomblets are activated," Taslidžan said. If a civilian picks up a bomblet, they could need lower or upper elbow amputations, she said, and if the submunitions are activated by stepping on them, parts of the lower body may need amputating.

Explosions "will cause stark abdominal and thoracic injuries, creating damage to internal organs," she said.

"In addition to this, from survivors that we have directly assisted in conflict and post-conflict areas, we also see significant craniofacial injuries, leaving long-term impact on eyesight and hearing," Taslidžan continued. "In some cases, we have also seen traumatic brain injuries, as well."

In most cases, injuries lead to impairments and life-long disabilities, she said. In addition to visible scars or burns, "their bodies will carry metal fragments or shrapnel that create chronical pain."

Colin Kahl, a senior Pentagon official, told the media following the U.S. announcement that the DPICM rounds heading for Ukraine have an "extremely low" dud rate of less than 2.35 percent, referring to how often they do not detonate as intended.

"Compare that to Russia, which has been using cluster munitions across Ukraine with dud rates of between 30 and 40 percent," Kahl told reporters.

Kahl said that the U.S. government was working alongside Kyiv to "minimize the risks associated with the decision." Ukraine's leaders had reassured the U.S. that the military would not use the DPICMs in areas populated by civilians, and that it would record where the cluster munitions had been used.

Ukraine Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on Twitter that the munitions would not be used in territory internationally recognized as Russian, and they would be deployed "only in the fields where there is a concentration of Russian military."

"They will be used to break through the enemy defence lines with minimum risk for the lives of our soldiers," he tweeted. Ukraine will prioritize de-mining after the war ends, Reznikov wrote, adding Kyiv will report back to its supports on how it uses cluster bombs.

But other complications can further harm civilians who sustain cluster munition injuries, Taslidžan said. In countries embroiled in, or recovering from conflict, a lack of medical care can mean that wounds end up infected, or that an injured civilian will need several correcting surgeries, she added.

And there is a psychological and mental toll not just on those injured, but their close relatives and loved ones, she argued.

Lingering submunitions can then also prevent people returning to their homes or safely farming the land, Taslidžan said.

Experts previously told Newsweek that cluster munitions will significantly boost the capabilities of Ukraine's military, including against mechanized units and Russia's infantry troops during Kyiv's counteroffensive.