Ukrainian official says 5 died in cluster bomb attack

Five residents were killed and 15 others were injured on Friday by cluster munitions scattered in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, the city’s ruler Vitaliy Kim told Telegram. One of the dead picked up an unexploded grenade, the official said.

“To repeat once more, do not touch foreign objects. It can be fatal,” he warned.

THE CNN cannot independently verify the governor’s allegations, however, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission (United Nations) in Ukraine has previously said that it has received credible allegations that Russian armed forces used cluster munitions in populated areas. from Ukraine.

The non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) also confirmed Russia’s use of cluster munitions during the conflict.

“Cluster munitions pose an immediate threat to civilians during conflict, randomly scattering submunitions or bombs over a wide area,” according to HRW.

In 2008, more than 100 countries at the United Nations signed a ban on cluster munitions, according to the UN. However, Ukraine and Russia have not signed the agreement.

Retaliation

Ukraine said two of its anti-ship missiles hit the cruiser Moskva, while the Kremlin said only that a fire on board led to the eventual sinking of the flagship of its Black Sea fleet.

Humeniuk said that “when the ammunition detonated, it showed that they were loaded enough to continue destroying Ukraine. The impact led to the detonation of the ammunition, they began to fight for survival.”

“We saw other ships trying to help the cruiser, but even nature was on Ukraine’s side because the storm did not allow for a rescue operation or evacuation of personnel,” she continued.

Humeniuk has referenced Russian missile strikes in the south since Thursday night after the attack on Moskva.