Putin’s cluster bomb onslaught sparks urgent demand for ‘war criminal’ probe

Ukraine: Large fireball spotted near Kharkiv

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During an attack in Kharkiv on Monday, when cluster bombs are suspected to have been used, nine people including three children lost their lives. Responding to the bombing of Kharkiv, Labour’s Shadow Foreign Secretary, David Lammy MP, said: “It is appalling that Vladimir Putin may have used cluster bombs in his unprovoked attack on the Ukrainian people.”

He added: “The ICC should urgently investigate whether a war crime has been committed and the rogue Russian regime should immediately withdraw.”

An expert told Express.co.uk that unless pressure from other countries is urgently imposed, the situation could deteriorate even more.

Sam Cranny-Evans, a Research Analyst for the Royal United Services Institute, said: “The Russian army will likely start to do more of this type of thing against civilians if they can’t achieve their goals through other means.”

Cluster munitions consist of a container that opens in the air and scatters large numbers of explosive submunitions (or ‘bomblets’) over a wide area.

The target of the bomblets is not controlled, therefore they kill innocent civilians including children.

They are banned under a 2008 international treaty because of their widespread indiscriminate effect and long-lasting danger to civilians, but neither Russia nor Ukraine has signed it.

Organisations including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Bellingcat have identified the use of cluster bombs in Ukraine over the past few days.

Multiple pictures of the bombs implanted on Ukraine’s streets and buildings are posted on social media.

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