Dispersion ammunition, transferred by Americans to Ukraine at least seven times. Bombs transit Germany, the signatory country of the convention that forbids them
The consequences of a Russian missile attack in Kharkov, Ukraine, on April 18, 2025. According to Mayor Ihor Terekhov, Russia has launched three ammunition missiles, hitting a densely populated area. Photo: Titov Yevhen / Abaca / Abaca Press / Profimedia
Dispersion ammunition has caused over 1,200 civil victims in Ukraine since the beginning of Russia's large -scale invasion, in February 2022, an international monitoring group announced on Monday, according to Reuters. The US has transferred to Ukraine such ammunition at least seven times, and some bombs have passed through Germany, a signator of the convention that prohibits dispersion, notes the group.
Dispersion ammunition, which can cause serious injuries, have continued to be used on both sides during the conflict, especially Russia, actions that caused the death and injury of numerous civilians, the monitoring group for terrestrial mines and dispersion ammunition said in a new report in Geneva.
“There are continuous attacks that affect civil areas and residential buildings. Individual attacks (…) have killed dozens of civilians and left hundreds of injured,” said Michael Hart, a research specialist, a member of this monitoring group.
Neither Russia nor Ukraine are parties to the 2008 Convention that prohibits dispersion ammunition, a convention that has 112 member countries.
Dispersion ammunition, launched from the ground or from aircraft, explodes in the air, spreading smaller bombs on an extended surface.
Survivors often suffer serious injuries due to explosions and burns, which can lead to medical needs throughout their lives, and activists are especially worried about unexploded bombs that remain on the battlefield long after the conflict.
US has transferred Ukraine with dispersion in at least 7 transports
The United States has transferred dispersion to Ukraine to at least seven separate transports, between July 2023 – October 2024, including weapons that apparently passed Germany, a country that is a signatory of the Convention, the report mentions.
There were no new transfers under the administration of US President Donald Trump, the same source says.
The monitoring group also states that the withdrawal of Lithuania from the treaty, in March 2025, “aroused concerns about the erosion of humanitarian disarmament norms.” It is the first country to withdraw from the convention.
“We have already seen the impact that this decision had on the Mining Prohibition Treaty, and the states should be extremely cautious in terms of a larger domino effect,” said Tamar Gabelnick, director of the coalition for dispersion.
In June, Ukraine joined a small number of countries that announced their withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention on the ground mines, in front of what they call increasing military threats.
