Human rights groups urged Russia and Ukraine not to use cluster munitions and asked the US not to supply them to Kyiv. In a statement, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights once again called on both countries not to use the controversial weapons, cluster munitions as they pose an immense danger to civilians.

Earlier, the US confirmed the decision to provide Kyiv with the controversial weapons as part of a new military aid package.  US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that the decision follows months of debate within the Biden administration about whether to provide Kyiv with the controversial weapons banned by over 100 countries including key US allies. Ukraine has been asking for the weapons for months amid an ammunition shortage.

Cluster munitions are a class of weapons that contain multiple explosive bomblets called submunitions. The munitions are controversial because of their high failure or dud, meaning unexploded bomblets can linger on the ground for years and possibly detonate later on. The Pentagon has noted that Russia has already been using cluster bombs in Ukraine with even higher failure rates.