Report launch: Open Source Assessment of Cluster Munition Use in the City of Kharkiv during Spring 2022

A new report by Bellingcat’s Justice & Accountability (J&A) Unit and the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) detailing the use of cluster munitions in civilian areas in Kharkiv at the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine is published today. The report is based on 32 in-depth investigations of separate incidents that took place between February and April 2022. It offers one of the most detailed looks yet at the use of cluster munitions against civilian areas, a practice that raises serious questions regarding violations of International Humanitarian Law. 

"The international case law is clear: raining down cluster munitions on a civilian city is a war crime - its main purpose is to terrorise the civilian population. This report, for the first time, sheds light on potential individual criminal responsibility for a set of incidents which have killed, displaced and traumatised thousands."

Dearbhla Minogue, Legal Co-Lead at GLAN

Read the report

Bellingcat’s J&A Unit helped build mechanisms for open source research to enhance legal accountability processes, particularly in cases of atrocity crimes. This report signifies the last piece of research that will be conducted by Bellingcat as part of this team.

GLAN is continuing its OSI accountability work, and you can find out more about that and any legacy J&A projects here.