Cluster munitions, fired from the ground or by aircraft, explode mid-air, spraying smaller 'bomblets' over a wide area. Neither Russia nor Ukraine is a party to the ban, nor is the United States, which began supplying cluster munitions to Ukraine this year. In Ukraine, the report said Russia had used cluster munitions "repeatedly", while Ukraine had also used them, but to "a lesser extent". The report covered last year, and therefore excludes this year's use by Ukraine of U.S. cluster munitions, which Kyiv began receiving in July. It also said its cluster munitions leave behind far fewer unexploded bomblets than those used by Russia.

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Persons: Ivan Alvarado, Mary Wareham, Washington, Emma Farge, Peter Graff Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Cluster Munitions Coalition, Human Rights Watch, Kyiv, Russian, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Kharkiv, Russia, United States, Geneva, Kyiv, Moscow, U.S, Myanmar, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Laos, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen