[JURIST] Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] said Thursday that the Ukrainian government and Russia-backed rebel forces consistently used cluster munitions in eastern Ukraine earlier this year, killing at least 13 civilians, including two children. HRW said that using cluster munitions in such densely populated areas violates the laws of war [HRW report] because of its haphazard nature. Cluster munitions are dozens or hundreds of smaller munitions, called submunitions, in containers such as rockets or bombs. The submunitions are released from the container upon launch, and are intended to explode once they hit the ground. They are spread arbitrarily over a wide area, putting combatants and civilians alike at risk. If the submunition fails to explode on impact, which happens often, it becomes a de facto landmine that may injure or kill people long after the initial attack. Because the cluster munitions are aimless and affect wide swaths of populated areas, their use could be considered a war crime. HRW has identified at least seven towns, villages and cities hit by cluster munitions between January 23 and February 12. Three of the seven populated areas were located in Ukrainian government-controlled territory, while four locations were in rebel territory. Both Ukraine and Russia have condemned the use of cluster munitions in populated areas.

The ongoing conflict [BBC timeline] in eastern Ukraine [JURIST news archive] has reinvigorated fears of Cold War Era politics and increased tensions between Russia and the West. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said earlier this month that more than 6,000 people have died [JURIST report] in eastern Ukraine since the conflict [JURIST backgrounder] began over a year ago. Last month a spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon revealed that Ban had spoken [JURIST report] with Ukraine Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin regarding the ceasefire in Ukraine. Ban expressed concern over the situation and informed Klimkin that the UN would continue to follow the Security Council’s guidance. Earlier in February Zeid called for [JURIST report] both sides of the Ukraine conflict to halt “the dangerous escalation in the fighting” in response to the human rights “situation in the east of the country.”