Alleged Use of Cluster Bombs by Ukraine Is Off UNSC Agenda: Moscow

VIENNA, October 29 (RIA Novosti) – No member of the UN Security Council, including Russia, has suggested separately discussing the alleged use of cluster bombs by Ukrainian forces, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told reporters Wednesday.

"This is quite a specific issue and no one has suggested discussing this aspect of the Ukrainian situation in the UN Security Council specifically. Although, of course, during discussions of the political situation [in Ukraine], the Russian delegation has centered its attention on this," Gatilov said.

At the time of the military operation in eastern Ukraine initiated by Kiev to suppress independence movement, leaders of the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) and the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) repeatedly claimed that Ukrainian forces were using cluster munitions in residential areas, however Kiev denied such accusations.

Last week, Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report that supported the DPR and LPR leaders' claims. HRW accused Ukrainian forces of using cluster munitions in populated areas of Donetsk in October. The organization also stated that the use of cluster bombs may amount to a war crime.

Cluster munitions contain dozens or hundreds of submunitions. When such a rocket or bomb is launched, a container in them opens up and disperses the submunitions, spreading them over a wide area and endangering anyone in the vicinity. So far, 114 countries have signed a treaty banning the use of cluster munitions, but Ukraine is not among them. HRW has called on Ukrainian authorities to join the treaty outlawing the use of such arms.