GENEVA 

Cluster munitions have caused more than 1,200 civilian casualties in Ukraine since the war began in February 2022, according to a report released on Monday by the Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor.

The weapons, which disperse multiple smaller bomblets over a wide area, have been used repeatedly throughout the conflict. According to the report, Russia's use has been extensive since the conflict began, while Ukraine has also deployed the controversial munitions.

"There continue to be attacks impacting civilian areas and residential buildings. Individual attacks recorded during the reporting period have killed dozens of civilians and left hundreds injured," said Michael Hart, the Cluster Munition Monitor research specialist.

Neither Russia nor Ukraine has signed the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, which prohibits the weapons and has 112 member states. Survivors of cluster munition attacks often suffer devastating burns and blast injuries, while unexploded bomblets remain a deadly risk for years after fighting ends.

The report also highlighted US involvement, noting that Washington sent Ukraine at least seven shipments of cluster munitions between July 2023 and October 2024. Some of those transfers reportedly passed through Germany, a state party to the convention.

Hart added that "there have been no new transfers under the (US President Donald) Trump administration."

Concerns over weakening disarmament norms deepened this year when Lithuania became the first country to withdraw from the treaty in March 2025.

"We have already seen the impact this decision has had on the Mine Ban Treaty, and states should be extremely wary of a wider domino effect," said Tamar Gabelnick, the director of the Cluster Munition Coalition, in the report.

Following Lithuania's withdrawal, four other Northern and Eastern European states, including Estonia, Latvia, Finland, and Poland, announced their intentions to withdraw from the Mine Ban Treaty. None of those four states is a member of this convention, and there is no indication that any other state is considering withdrawing, the monitor stated.

The warning comes as Ukraine distances itself from humanitarian arms control treaties. In June, Kyiv announced its withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention, which prohibits anti-personnel mines, citing Russia's growing threat.