Summary: Non-signatory Russia says that it cannot join the Convention on Cluster Munitions as it regards cluster munitions as legitimate weapons, despite the humanitarian risks associated with their use. Russia last participated in a meeting of the convention in 2012. It was the only country to vote against a key United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution in December 2022 that urged states outside the Convention on Cluster Munitions to “join as soon as possible.”

Russia—and the Soviet Union before it—is a major producer, stockpiler, and exporter of cluster munitions. Russia has used cluster munitions extensively in Ukraine since its February 2022 invasion of the country, including newly produced models of cluster munitions.

Policy 

The Russian Federation has not acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions. 

Russia is one of the most vocal critics of the convention and has not taken any steps to accede as it sees military utility in cluster munitions. Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov stated in 2016 that Russia views cluster munitions “as a legal means of warfare.”[1]

This position was reinforced at the UNGA in November 2022, when Russia stated that “cluster munitions are a legal type of weapon,” and said that “the main cause of the humanitarian problems associated with them is not the weapons themselves, but their improper use.” Therefore, the delegate said, “Accession of the Russian Federation to the [Convention on Cluster Munitions] is currently considered inappropriate.”[2]

In its statement, Russia reiterated that it “respects the efforts of the activists of the Convention on Cluster Munitions…to reduce the negative consequences of the use of this type of weapon for the civilian population, both during armed conflicts and after them.” The representative went on to state that “Russia’s position on this ambiguous document hastily prepared outside the UN framework remains unchanged. We did not participate in the development of the [Convention on Cluster Munitions], because it was originally aimed at imposing discriminatory restrictions contrary to Russia’s defense and security interests.” Russia repeated its long-held concerns over the convention and its alleged “double standards” and “shortcomings.”[3]

Russia did not participate in the Oslo Process that created the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[4] When the convention opened for signature in December 2008, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed Russia’s opposition to “unjustified restrictions and bans on cluster munitions,” which it defended as “a legitimate type of weapon that is not banned by international humanitarian law and plays a significant role in the defense interests of Russia.”[5]

Russia participated as an observer at meetings of the convention in 2010 and 2011. Russia was invited to, but did not attend, the convention’s Tenth Meeting of States Parties held in Geneva in August–September 2022.

In December 2022, Russia voted against a key UNGA resolution that urged states outside the Convention on Cluster Munitions to “join as soon as possible.”[6] Russia has previously abstained or voted against this annual UNGA resolution promoting the convention since it was first introduced in 2015.[7]

Russia criticizes some but not all users of cluster munitions and deflects attention from its own use. Russia rarely acknowledges its own use of cluster munitions in Syria and Ukraine, where it has used the weapons extensively since invading the country in February 2022. (See Use section).

Following the July 2023 decision by the United States (US) to transfer stocks of cluster munitions to Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin told the media: “I want to note that in the Russian Federation there is a sufficient stockpile of different kinds of cluster bombs. We have not used them yet. But of course if they are used against us, we reserve the right to take reciprocal action.”[8]

Previously, in 2014, Russia criticized and expressed “serious concern” at the use of cluster munitions “against [the] civilian population” in eastern Ukraine.[9] Russia has never acknowledged the use of cluster munitions by Russian-backed armed opposition groups in eastern Ukraine.

Russia voted in favor of a 2015 United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution that expressed concern at evidence of cluster munition use in Darfur, Sudan.[10] It also voted in favor of a 2014 UNSC resolution that expressed concern at the “indiscriminate” use of cluster munitions in South Sudan.[11]

Russia is not party to the Mine Ban Treaty.

Russia is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW). Russia had opposed CCW discussions on cluster munitions for years, but changed its position in 2011 to support an effort led by the US to conclude a new CCW protocol on cluster munitions.[12] That initiative failed in November 2011, which ended CCW deliberations on cluster munitions, leaving the Convention on Cluster Munitions as the sole international instrument specifically dedicated to ending the suffering caused by these weapons. Since 2011, Russia has not proposed any further CCW work on cluster munitions. 

Development and production

Russia, and historically the Soviet Union, is a major producer and exporter of cluster munitions. Additionally, several states inherited stocks of cluster munitions when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Our records on the production, usage, and export of cluster munitions…are confidential and will not be publicized.”[13]

According to international technical reference and corporate marketing materials, three state-owned Russian companies have produced cluster munitions:

• Bazalt State Research and Production Enterprise (air-dropped bombs);
• Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (120mm, 152mm, and 203mm artillery projectiles); and
• Splav State Research and Production Enterprise (122mm, 220mm, and 300mm rockets).

Russia continued to produce new cluster munitions in 2022 and its forces used at least two new types of cluster munitions in combat for the first time:

• The 300mm 9M54-series guided missile, produced by Splav State Research and Production Enterprise, delivered by the 9K515 “Tornado-S” rocket launcher. The 9M544 model contains 552 3B30 dual-purpose submunitions, while the 9M549 model contains 72 antipersonnel submunitions; and
• A cluster munition variant of the Iskander-M 9M723 ballistic missile.

Splav State Research and Production Enterprise, which is part of state-owned arms company Rostec, displayed the new generation of 300mm multi-barrel rocket launchers at its rocket assembly facility in Tula, south of Moscow, in July 2020.^[14] Photographs from the event showed 9M55K 300mm cluster munition rockets and 9N235 fragmentation submunitions, as well as 9M54-series cluster munition guided missiles made for the new Tornado-S launcher system.^[15]

In early 2018, Russia began testing the “Drel” RBK-500U guided cluster bomb, developed by Bazalt State Research and Production Enterprise.[16]

Transfer

There is limited information available on Russian arms transfers, including cluster munitions. However, at least 35 states have stockpiled cluster munitions of Russian/Soviet origin, including 21 states not party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[17]

At least 11 States Parties that have stockpiled cluster munitions of Russian/Soviet origin have formally declared the stocks and listed types and quantities, as outlined in the following table:

Stockpiled Russian/Soviet cluster munitions declared by States Parties[18]

Stockpiling

In 2009, Russia acknowledged that it possesses a “large” stockpile of cluster munitions which are “stored throughout the state.” It said disposing of such a wide range of obsolete cluster munitions would be time-consuming and “a significant financial expenditure.”[19] In 2011, Russia stated that its cluster munition stockpile was similar in size to that of the US, which then reported stockpiling 5.5 million cluster munitions.[20]

According to Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “The quantity and types of cluster munitions stockpiled in the Russian Ministry of Defence are confidential and will not be publicized.”[21] The following list detailing types of cluster munitions stockpiled by Russia is based on a wide variety of publicly available sources.

Cluster munitions stockpiled by Russia[22]

Note: FAE=Fuel Air Explosive; HE/AT=High Explosive/Antitank; SFW=Sensor Fuzed Weapon.

Use

The Russian Armed Forces have used cluster munitions extensively in Ukraine since Russia’s all-out invasion of the country on 24 February 2022. Russian forces were also reportedly involved in a cluster munition attack in Syria in November 2022.

Ukraine

Russia’s use of cluster munitions in Ukraine has caused hundreds of civilian casualties, damaged civilian infrastructure, and contaminated agricultural land.[23] Ukrainian forces have also used cluster munitions on several occasions during the conflict.[24]

At least 10 types of cluster munitions and three types of individual submunitions have been used in Ukraine since 24 February 2022. These types are all launched from the ground in missiles, rockets, and mortar projectiles; aside from the RBK-series cluster bomb, which is delivered by aircraft.

With the exception of an Israeli-designed cluster munition, the cluster munitions used in Ukraine were manufactured either in the Soviet Union prior to 1991 or in Russia, some as recently as 2021.

Cluster munitions used in Ukraine (2022–2023)

Ground-fired rockets and missiles

• The 220mm 9M27K-series Uragan (“Hurricane”) cluster munition rocket, which has a range of 10–35km and delivers 30 9N210 or 9N235 fragmentation submunitions;
• The 300mm 9M55K-series Smerch (“Tornado”) cluster munition rocket, which has a range of 20–70km and delivers 72 9N210 or 9N235 fragmentation submunitions;
• The 300mm 9M54-series “Tornado-S” cluster munition guided missile, which delivers 552 3B30 dual-purpose 9M544 submunitions or 72 9M549 antipersonnel submunitions;
• The 9M549 Tornado-S cluster munition guided missile, which delivers 72 9N235 fragmentation submunitions;
• The 9M79-series Tochka ballistic missile, which is equipped with the 9N123K warhead containing 50 9N24 fragmentation submunitions; and
• The Iskander-M 9M723K1 ballistic missile, which contains 54 9N730 dual-purpose submunitions.

Ground-fired artillery and mortar projectiles

• The 203mm 3-O-14 artillery projectile, each delivering 24 O-16 fragmentation submunitions;
• The 152mm 3-O-13 artillery projectile, each delivering eight O-16 fragmentation submunitions;
• The 3-O-8 240mm mortar projectile, each delivering O-10 fragmentation submunitions; and
• The M971 120mm mortar projectile, each containing 24 M87 dual-purpose submunitions.

Air-dropped bombs

• The RBK-500 PTAB-1M cluster bomb, containing 268 PTAB-1M high explosive/antitank submunitions;
• Individual ShOAB-0.5 fragmentation submunitions (photographed in the Donetsk region); and
• Individual PTAB-2.5 dual purpose submunitions (photographed being modified for use in drone-dropped munitions).

Russia has not denied using cluster munitions in Ukraine, but has sought to draw attention elsewhere. It has criticized past use of cluster munitions by North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member states in the former Yugoslavia in 1999.[25] Russia accused Ukraine of using cluster munitions in the city of Donetsk on 14 March 2022, in an attack that has not been independently confirmed.[26] In June 2022, France issued a statement denying “allegations circulating in the Russian media and amplified by social media asserting that France is supplying Ukraine with cluster munitions,” describing the reports as “totally false.”[27]

The use of cluster munitions in Ukraine has been condemned by at least 40 states in national or joint statements at United Nations (UN) bodies such as the Human Rights Council, UNGA, and UNSC as of 1 July 2023.[28] The cluster munition attacks have also been condemned by the European Union (EU), the NATO Secretary-General, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Human Rights Special Rapporteurs and Experts, and the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC).

In March 2022, the United Kingdom (UK), then-president of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, expressed grave concern at the use of cluster munitions during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The UK said that it “calls upon all those that continue to use such weapons to cease immediately, and calls upon all states that have not yet done so to join the Convention without delay.”[29]

Previously, in 2014–2015, Russian-backed insurgents used cluster munition rockets in eastern Ukraine.[30] Ukrainian government forces were also responsible for cluster munition rocket attacks.[31] Russia expressed concern at this Ukrainian government use of cluster munitions, but never commented on cluster munition attacks by pro-Russian separatist forces.[32]

Syria

In Syria, there is strong evidence that Russia stockpiles cluster munitions at its airbase at Hmeymim, southeast of Latakia city. There is also strong evidence that Russia has used cluster munitions in Syria or, at a minimum, directly participated with Syrian government forces in attacks that have used cluster munitions on opposition-held areas.

Russian and Syrian government forces use many of the same aircraft and weapons, and frequently carry out operations together.[33] There was a significant increase in the use of cluster munitions in Syria after Russia began its joint operations with Syrian government forces on 30 September 2015.[34] All except two types of the cluster munitions used in Syria since 2012 were manufactured in Russia or the Soviet Union.[35]

The Syrian-Russian military alliance used cluster munition rockets in attacks on camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Idlib governorate on 6 November 2022, killing and wounding civilians.[36]

Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov has not explicitly denied Russia’s involvement in using cluster munitions in Syria, but has claimed that cluster munitions have been used in accordance with international humanitarian law and not indiscriminately.[37] In December 2016, Russia issued a position paper on the use of cluster munitions in Syria, which concluded “the question of the involvement of the Russian military personnel in the cases of indiscriminate CMs [cluster munitions] use in Syria [is] totally inappropriate.”[38] In December 2015, the Russian Ministry of Defence stated that “Russian aviation does not use [cluster munitions]” and that “there are no such munitions at the Russian air base in Syria.”[39]

The civilian harm caused by use of cluster munitions in Syria has attracted widespread global media coverage, public outcry, and condemnations from more than 145 states.[40]

Previous use

During the August 2008 conflict with Georgia, Russia used cluster munitions including RBK-500 AO-2.5RTM cluster bombs and 9M27K-series Uragan ground-fired rockets containing 9N210 and 9N235 submunitions. Russia used cluster munitions in or near nine towns and villages in the Gori-Tskhinvali corridor, south of the South Ossetian administrative border.[41] Russia has denied using cluster munitions in Georgia.[42]

Russian forces used cluster munitions in Chechnya from 1994–1996 and again in 1999.[43]

After the breakup of the Soviet Union, cluster munitions were used by various forces in conflicts in Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Tajikistan. The extent of involvement of Russian forces in this use of cluster munitions is not known, but cannot be discounted.

The Soviet Union used cluster munitions from 1979 to 1989 in Afghanistan. The Soviet Union had first used cluster munitions in 1943, against German forces during World War II.[44]