KIEV, October 21 (RIA Novosti) – Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council spokesperson said on Tuesday that Ukrainian troops have not used cluster munitions in eastern Ukraine and urged the international community to provide evidence of such incidents.
"During the course of the anti-terror operation [in eastern Ukraine] the Ukrainian military did not use weapons prohibited by international law; this applies to cluster munitions as well," Andriy Lysenko told reporters in the Ukrainian capital.
The spokesperson also addressed international organizations, calling on them to compile a detailed review with facts and evidence of the alleged use of prohibited arms by Kiev.
Lysenko went further by accusing pro-independence forces of southeastern Ukraine of using cluster munitions. He argued that Ukrainian troops found four jet projectiles with cluster munitions on October 13 near the Slaviansk area in the Donetsk region.
Earlier in the week, Human Rights Watch released a statement, accusing the Ukrainian government forces of using cluster munitions during an attack on Donetsk in October. An employee of the International Committee of the Red Cross died in the attack. The human rights watchdog called on Ukrainian authorities to join the international treaty, outlawing the use of such arms.
Kiev's military operation against eastern Ukraine's independence supporters has killed over 3,700 since April, according to UN data. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) monitoring mission in the region states that both sides are mostly adhering to the ceasefire agreed on September 5. However, both Kiev and pro-independence militias have accused each other of violating the truce on a regular basis.
