Cluster Munitions Strike Again: Recalling the Fateful Day in 2022 in Mykolaiv and Kharkiv

The war is far from over. The dark smoke that blanketed the skies over Kharkiv in February 2022 and the devastating impact of cluster munitions on residential neighbourhoods in Mykolaiv remain deep, festering wounds on Ukrainian soil even now in 2026. With Russian forces ramping up offensives in eastern and southern Ukraine recently, the term 'cluster munitions' has once again become a hot-button issue on the global stage. But what we must remember isn't just the name of a weapon, but the tragic human stories it leaves in its wake.

A Global Taboo Ignored: The Horrors Defying the Convention on Cluster Munitions

Cluster munitions are weapons designed to release hundreds of smaller submunitions (bomblets) over a wide area, striking multiple targets simultaneously. Because of their immense destructive power, the Convention on Cluster Munitions has been signed by over 100 nations, completely banning their use, production, and transfer. However, the war in Ukraine has starkly illustrated just how fragile such taboos can be in reality. Local reports from the time indicate that in early 2022, Russian forces rained down cluster munitions indiscriminately on key Ukrainian cities, including Kharkiv and Mykolaiv.

The Cries of Kharkiv and Mykolaiv in February 2022

The cluster munition attacks on Kharkiv in February 2022, immediately after the invasion began, were nothing short of a living hell. Striking residential areas, schools, and hospitals without distinction, the bomblets turned safe civilian spaces into scenes of slaughter in an instant. Just a few months later, the same tragedy unfolded in the Black Sea port city of Mykolaiv. Footage from the cluster munition attacks in Mykolaiv at the time vividly showed the massive casualties in and around parks and playgrounds. This inevitably drew sharp criticism, branding the attacks not as mere military conflict, but as clear-cut war crimes targeting civilians.

A Curse Upon the Land: The Ticking Time Bomb of Unexploded Ordnance (UXO)

But the bigger problem is that the crisis is still ongoing. The greatest threat from cluster munitions lies in the unexploded ordnance (UXO) they leave behind. A significant number of the submunitions don't detonate upon impact. Instead, they remain buried in fields and villages, unretrieved. It's as if millions of landmines have been scattered across the entire country. Reports indicate that even now, four years after the invasion began, there are continuous accounts of civilians losing their lives on the outskirts of Kharkiv and Mykolaiv. Farmers tilling their land or people scavenging for scrap metal accidentally trigger these dormant bomblets. The horrific accidents involving children who mistake them for toys serve as a grim reminder to everyone living there that the war's terror is far from over.

What cluster munitions have left behind are ruined cities, lives that will never return, and unexploded bombs that will threaten the land for decades to come. The brutality of war isn't just a story playing out on a screen far away. Right now, at this very moment, someone's life is being endangered by the shrapnel of a cluster munition fired back in 2022.

• The Inhumanity of Cluster Munitions: Indiscriminate area denial, violation of civilian protection principles.
• A Threat for Generations: Long-term safety hazards from UXO, rendering agricultural land unusable.
• Absence of International Response: Reigniting debate over the effectiveness of the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Can we truly say the war is over? For Ukraine, the day when its skies and lands are completely safe has not yet arrived. The cluster munitions from that day still remain, carrying out their silent slaughter.