Military

Japan Calls on More Nations to Join Cluster Bomb Treaty After Ukraine's Attack on Russian Journos

TOKYO (Sputnik) - The Japanese government maintains its position on the need to expand the number of signatories to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) in light of the Russian Defense Ministry's statement on the shelling of Russian journalists by Ukraine, Japanese Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihiko Isozaki said Monday.
Sputnik
"We are aware that on July 22, the Russian Defense Ministry issued a statement on the shelling that injured four Russian journalists, which was carried out by Ukraine with the use of cluster munitions," Isozaki told a briefing.
Ukrainian troops launched an artillery strike Saturday which struck a group of Sputnik and Izvestia journalists while they were preparing reports on Kiev's use of cluster bombs in Zaporozhye Region. Three journalists were injured in the attack, and Sputnik war correspondent Rostislav Zhuravlev was killed.
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Washington announced its decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine earlier this month as a stopgap measure, claiming that Ukrainian forces are running out of ammunition for their 155mm artillery and that US and NATO stockpiles have been drained. Last week, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby confirmed to reporters that the cluster munitions Washington delivered to Kiev had already been used in the field.
Cluster munitions are banned by the CCM, which has been signed by 123 countries since being drawn up in 2008. The United States, Ukraine, Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and South Korea are among countries that have not signed the convention.
Cluster munitions have a high dud rate. According to the US military, between 5% and 14% of the munitions delivered to Ukraine may not explode on impact because of the long time that they have been in storage. In that case, they would effectively be turned into de facto landmines, and will continue to pose a threat to civilians even long after the conflict is over. Human Rights Watch said earlier this month that supplying Kiev with the munitions would have long-term consequences for civilians and undermine more than a decade of international cooperation and advances in having the weapons banned.
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