'@Amnesty has confirmed that a 220mm Uragan rocket dropped cluster munitions on the Sonechko nursery and kindergarten in the town of Okhtyrka in Sumy Oblast, on Feb 25, where local people were seeking safety from the fighting.
"The strike may constitute a war crime." - Amnesty
"The strike may constitute a war crime." - Amnesty
“There is no possible justification for dropping cluster munitions in populated areas, let alone near a school,” @AgnesCallamard
“This attack bears all the hallmarks of Russia’s use of this inherently indiscriminate and internationally-banned weapon..."
“This attack bears all the hallmarks of Russia’s use of this inherently indiscriminate and internationally-banned weapon..."
Under the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions -- a treaty backed by more than 100 states, but which Ukraine and Russia have not joined -- the use, development, production, acquisition, stockpiling and transfer of cluster munitions is prohibited under all circumstances.
Customary international humanitarian law prohibits the use of inherently indiscriminate weapons such as cluster munitions. Launching indiscriminate attacks that kill or injure civilians constitutes a war crime.
Drone video footage taken from the scene shows that cluster munitions struck at least seven locations on or near the building, four on the roof and three on the pavement immediately outside the school.
Two injured or dead civilians are also visible in the footage, as are pools of blood. An additional 65 photos and videos that Amnesty International acquired from a local source shows more details of the scene, the victims and their family members, and the damage to the school.
“While I was walking down [with] my wife, there were immediate explosions,” an older man told @Amnesty
“You see, everyone is covered with blood, everything. ...it kills me the fact it’s a kindergarten.
What’s this they shoot at?
At military objects?
Where are those?"
“You see, everyone is covered with blood, everything. ...it kills me the fact it’s a kindergarten.
What’s this they shoot at?
At military objects?
Where are those?"
The 220mm Uragan rocket, either a 9M27K or 9M27K1, carries 30 9N210 or 9N235 cluster munitions, which are nearly identical and differ only in the length of the time delay of their self-destruct feature.
The seven impacts on and near the school show damage, including distinctive spalling on the ground, consistent with the expected damage from 9N210/9N235 cluster munitions.
This is the 4th attack in this conflict that has struck a school that Amnesty International has verified.
This is the 4th attack in this conflict that has struck a school that Amnesty International has verified.
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