In a tragic incident on Saturday, a Russian war reporter lost his life, and three other journalists were wounded in the sout♊heastern region of Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. The Russian defense ministry claimed that the attack was carried out by Ukraine using cluster munitions, sparking outrage among politicians.
The wounded journalists were promptly evacuated from the battlefield after coming under fire, but sadly, Rostislav Zhuravlev, whoꦑ worked for the sta﷽te news agency RIA, succumbed to his injuries during the transfer, according to Reuters.
However, the defense ministry's assertion regarding Ukraꦿine's use of cluster munitions lacked concrete evidence, and independent verification by Reuters was inconclusive. It's worth noting that Ukraine had recently received cluster bombs from the United States, but they had pledged to use them solely to target enemy concentrations.
Cluster munitions have been widely criticized due to their indiscriminate nature, posing significant risks to civilian൲s. These weapons disperse bomblets over a wide area, some of which can remain unexploded for years, becoming deadly hazards long after the conflict has ended.
The use of cluster munitions was condemned by Russian politicians, with Ko🍌nstantin Kosachyov blaming both Ukraine and the United States for the "inhuman" act. Leonid Slutsky went a step further, describing it as a "monstrous crime."
Interestingly, Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, questioned the moral compass of the United States, accusing them of attempting to prop up a corrupt ꧋regime in Kiev by crossing "all moral red lines."
However, these reactions overlooked Russia's own documented use of cluster bombs in the conflict, as reported by human rights groups and the UN. In May, US-based Human Rights Watch documented how Russian forces had employed these weapons in attacks that led to hundreds of civilian casualties and severe dama💃ge to homes, hospitals, and schools.
The White House's national security spokesman, John Kirb🍷y, stated this week that Ukra♌inian forces were appropriately and effectively using cluster munitions against Russian formations.
Ad🧸ding to the complexity of the situation, the governor of Russia's southern Belgorod region a🀅lleged that Ukraine had fired cluster munitions at a village inside Russia the previous day. Still, no casualties or damage were reported, and visual evidence was not provided.
