Russia Used Cluster Munitions in Kyiv Attack, Human Rights Watch Says

(Kyiv, August 13, 2026) – Russia likely used cluster munitions in a ballistic missile attack on Kyiv on August 5, killing three people and endangering nearby civilians, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said today. The strike hit a sorting center for Nova Poshta, Ukraine’s largest private courier service, in the city’s Obolonskyi district. It was part of a wider Russian missile and drone assault on Kyiv and the surrounding region that reportedly killed at least 17 civilians and injured dozens. “Russia has once again fired an inherently indiscriminate weapon into a densely populated civilian area,” said Kseniya Kvitka, assistant Ukraine researcher at HRW. “There can be no justification for using cluster munitions near homes, schools, and hospitals.” Cluster munitions are weapons that disperse dozens of small bomblets over a wide area. Many fail to explode on impact, leaving duds that can kill and maim like landmines for years. HRW verified videos and photos of the attack. A video posted on Telegram at 8:44 a.m. showed a large fire and multiple near-simultaneous explosions. A second video, posted 14 minutes later, showed the same incident from another angle. The group identified the target as the Nova Poshta sorting center. A hospital is less than a kilometer west of the site, and a residential area with schools, a stadium, and high-rise buildings is less than 500 meters east. Photos confirmed that a missile remnant was the nose cone of a 9M720 series “Iskander-M” ballistic missile equipped with a cluster warhead. This type can deploy up to 54 submunitions. Russian forces have consistently used cluster munitions in Ukraine since the full-scale invasion in February 2022. The attack on the Kramatorsk train station on April 8, 2022, killed 58 people and injured more than 100. The August 5 attack is part of a major escalation of Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities. In July 2026, Russia fired a record number of missiles, including at least 126 ballistic missiles. According to the United Nations, civilian casualties in the first half of 2026 were 37 percent higher than in the same period in 2025. The UN said the increase is due to the use of “powerful weapons that are particularly deadly when used in densely populated urban areas.” Cluster munitions are banned under the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, which 112 countries have joined. Russia is not a party, but it is bound by international humanitarian law, which requires parties to a conflict to spare civilians and target only military objectives. Intentionally directing attacks against civilians is a war crime. HRW said the August 5 attack should be investigated as a possible war crime. Ukraine is also not a party to the convention. HRW has documented Ukraine’s use of cluster munitions in 2022, but Ukraine has committed not to use them in urban areas. “The use of widely banned weapons amid a mounting civilian toll underscores the urgent need for accountability,” Kvitka said. “Russia should immediately end its use of cluster munitions and other indiscriminate attacks.”