Russian journalist's death in cluster bomb attack brings focus back on this deadly weapon

On July 22, Russian war reporter Rostislav Zhuravlev, who was working for the country's RIA news agency was killed, and three other Russian journalists were wounded in a Ukrainian artillery attack near the frontline in Zaporizhzhia region. The Russian defence ministry said Zhuravlev died during the evacuation journey. Zhuravlev is reportedly the 13th journalist killed in Ukraine since the start of the war in February 2022.

The Russian Army said in its statement that the journalists were wounded in various levels of severity in a strike by the Ukrainian army using controversial cluster munitions. On July 23, Russia's Investigative Committee launched a criminal probe into the killing of Zhuravlev. Though the committee alleged that armed Ukrainian formations targeted and “deliberately fired” at the journalists, it did not specifically say the type of weapons or munitions used. It was on July 13 that the Pentagon confirmed that the cluster munitions arrived in Ukraine. Ukraine reportedly had vowed to use the controversial weapon only to dislodge concentrations of Russian soldiers. However, within 10 days of the US shipment's arrival in Ukraine, Russia made the allegation that Ukraine used it against journalists.

This is not the first time allegations about the use of cluster munitions are being raised in the Russia-Ukraine war. In May 2022, Human Rights Watch released a 20-page report which said ever since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, “Russian armed forces have used at least six types of cluster munitions in attacks that have caused hundreds of civilian casualties and damaged civilian objects, including homes, hospitals and schools”. “Evidence indicates that Ukrainian forces have also used cluster munitions at least once,” the report said.

Issues with cluster bombs

Cluster bombs, designed to disperse numerous "mini-bombs" known as sub-munitions across vast areas, disregard any differentiation between civilians, civilian infrastructure, and military targets. So, there is an international convention preventing its use in wars.

According to the United Nations, cluster munitions are not only dangerous in the short term but pose severe long-term risks as well. According to reports, up to 40 per cent of cluster munitions fail to detonate upon impact, leading to sporadic explosions and long-lasting disruptions that can span decades. The impact of these remnants remains evident, as all 149 new cluster bomb casualties reported in 2021 were a result of unexploded cluster munitions from the past, underscoring the persisting effects they can have.

The Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM)

CCM is an international treaty that imposes a complete prohibition on the use, transfer, production, and stockpiling of cluster munitions.

Initially adopted on May 30, 2008, the treaty was later signed on December 3, 2008, and officially took effect on August 1, 2010. Its primary objectives are to provide a comprehensive framework for victim assistance, clearance of contaminated areas, risk reduction education, and the destruction of stockpiles. Today, 103 nations, including the UK, France, and Germany, are party to the Convention, and another 17 more countries are signatories.

Under the CCM, member countries were obligated to clear areas contaminated by cluster munition remnants within 10 years and to eliminate their existing cluster munition stocks within eight years. Moreover, the treaty mandates the provision of assistance to victims of cluster munitions.

NGOs such as the Cluster Munition Coalition and the International Campaign to Ban Landmines were instrumental in mobilising public opinion and lobbying governments to support the treaty. The International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations also played key roles in the creation of CCM.

As per the 2022 Cluster Munition Monitor report, since the convention's enforcement, 35 state parties have successfully destroyed 1.5 million cluster munition stockpiles, which encompassed a total of 178 million sub-munitions.

Non-signatories of CCM

Since CCM came into existence, 18 countries that formerly manufactured cluster munitions have ceased doing so. However, there are sixteen countries today—including India, Pakistan, the United States and Russia—that either produce or has a significant stockpile of cluster munitions, according to the Cluster Munition Monitor Report 2022. None of these countries are signatories to CCM. Today only 47 countries are left as non-signatories in CCM.

India’s position

Through a non-signatory, India acknowledges the humanitarian concerns associated with cluster munitions. However, the country views them as “legitimate weapons”. India has never made a statement detailing its position on acceding to the ban convention or has never attended a meeting of the convention, according to the civil society initiative, Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor (LCMM). India received an invitation to CCM’s Eighth Meeting of States Parties in Geneva which was held in September 2018. However, India chose not to attend it.

In December 2018, India also abstained from the vote on a key UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution on the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which urges states outside the convention to “join as soon as possible.”

India is believed to be an importer, producer and exporter of cluster munitions, but it is not known to have used them. India has not disclosed information on its stockpiled cluster munitions, either.

India has imported cluster munitions from the United States and other countries. The US announced a sale to India in 2008 of 510 air-delivered CBU-105 sensor-fuzed weapons. The CBU-105 is a 1,000-pound (450 kg)-class freefall cluster bomb unit that was used by the US during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The submunitions of CBU-105 are designed to self-destruct if they fail to detonate on impact, reducing the risk of unexploded ordnance. In 2010, Textron, which manufactures CBU-105 announced a US$258 million contract to provide India with 512 CBU-105. In May 2019, Indian Air Force Jaguar aircraft tested CBU-105 bombs at the Pokhran Test Firing Range in Jaisalmer. According to Jane’s Information Group, a global open-source intelligence company, India also possess United Kingdom-made BL755, France-made BLG-66 Belouga, Soviet-produced RBK-250-275, and RBK-500 cluster bombs. The country also possesses Soviet-era KMG-U dispensers, which have been criticised for their indiscriminate nature and the harm they can cause to civilians and infrastructure. In 2006, India bought 28 launch units for the Russian-produced 300mm Smerch multi-barrel rocket launchers with rockets equipped with dual-purpose and sensor-fuzed submunitions.

In 2018, NGO Pax’s report, 'Worldwide Investments in Cluster Munitions: A Shared Responsibility', put four Indian banks—Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI), State Bank of India (SBI), and Yes Bank—on the hall of shame for financing the cluster munitions producers. Together, these four banks have invested around $173.5 million in cluster munitions. All four banks financed state-controlled Bharat Dynamics Limited, according to the report.

According to LCMM, India produces cluster munitions delivered by ground-launched artillery projectiles, rockets, and missiles and it is not known to have developed or produced air-dropped cluster munitions. Today, only a handful of state-owned companies promote their cluster munitions at defence industry arms fairs. In June 2022, Munitions India Ltd—a state-owned defence company headquartered in Pune—made a controversial display of a cluster munition variant of the Pinaka missile system at the Eurosatory Arms Fair. Omega Research Foundation, a UK-based organisation researching the manufacture, trade-in, and use of, military, security and police technologies, had then called out this as a breach of Eurosatory rules and had asked the organisation to ban Munitions India Ltd from any future arms fair.