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Cluster Munition Monitor 2025 Finds 1,200+ Civilian Casualties in Ukraine as Ban Faces Strain

A new global report warns of eroding norms following fresh use by non‑parties alongside the first withdrawal from the ban.

A soldier holds an unexploded Russian cluster bomb in the Khmelnytsky region
Ukrainian military serviceman Igor Ovcharruck holds a defused cluster bomb from an MSLR missile, among a display of pieces of rockets used by Russian army, that a Ukrainian munitions expert said did not explode on impact, in the region of Kharkiv, Ukraine, October 21, 2022. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne/File Photo
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Overview

  • Ukraine recorded at least 1,200 civilian casualties from cluster munitions since 2022, including 193 in 2024 out of 314 globally, with monitors calling the tally the tip of the iceberg.
  • Russia has used cluster munitions extensively in Ukraine, Ukraine has also used them, and new use was documented in Myanmar and Syria during the latest reporting period.
  • The report notes suspected or alleged incidents beyond active battlefields, including a Thai acknowledgment linked to a border clash and an Israeli claim that Iran used the weapons in a June attack.
  • The United States made at least seven transfers of cluster munitions to Ukraine between July 2023 and October 2024, with no new transfers reported since President Trump took office.
  • Lithuania’s March 2025 withdrawal marked the first exit from the convention and drew broad condemnation, even as membership reached 112 with Vanuatu and parties reported completing stockpile destruction.