| Mykolaiv cluster bombing | |
|---|---|
| Part of the battle of Mykolaiv and Mykolaiv strikes (2022–present) | |
 Unexploded Russian bomb the day after the bombing | |
| Location | Mykolaiv, Ukraine |
| Date | 13 March 2022 |
Attack type | Cluster munition bombing |
| Deaths | 9 [1] |
| Perpetrators |  Russian Armed Forces |
On 13 March 2022, during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian Armed Forces bombed Mykolaiv with cluster munitions, killing nine civilians. [2] [3]
Nine civilians waiting in line on the street at a cash machine were killed in the attack. The explosions also damaged houses and civilian buildings. Human Rights Watch analysed the incident and found that the Russian forces used Smerch and Uragan cluster munition on densely populated areas. [3]
Due to the inherently indiscriminate nature of cluster munitions, Human Rights Watch described their use in Mykolaiv as a possible Russian war crime. [3]
A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller submunitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill personnel and destroy vehicles. Other cluster munitions are designed to destroy runways or electric power transmission lines.
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The Russian Armed Forces have launched several rocket attacks on Kharkiv, Ukraine, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
