Journalists from the New York Times studied more than a thousand photos from Ukraine, identifying more than 2,000 munitions and their fragments. Among them, 210 were banned by international treaties.
Source: New York Times journalists
“All but a handful were cluster munitions, including their submunitions, which can pose a grave risk to civilians for decades after the war has ended. More than 330 other weapons appeared to have been used on or near civilian structures.”
It is noted that due to limited visual information from Ukraine, these estimates are understated.
“This is a window into the mindset of how Russia views Ukraine. And it’s a window into how Russia views the likelihood that it will be held accountable for its actions,” said Pierre-Richard Prosper, who served as U.S. ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues under President George W. Bush and who has also been a war crimes prosecutor.
“It’s emblematic of how the Russian government has been operating with impunity on so many fronts.”
In addition to launching weapons that have failed to explode in Ukraine, Russia has also attacked local arms depots, causing fires and explosions that typically can fling hundreds of damaged and unstable munitions into surrounding areas.
See also: Russia is testing new prohibited weapons against Ukraine, – Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine
