Three civilians were killed in a Ukrainian preschool as they attempted to shelter from incoming fire, according to Amnesty International.
A child and two civilians were killed in a northeastern Ukrainian preschool on Feb. 25, when the school was hit with cluster munitions, which are widely banned due to the threat they pose to innocent people.
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Amnesty was able to confirm that the 220 mm Uragan rocket dropped cluster munitions on the Sonechko nursery and kindergarten in Okhtyrka, the group announced on Saturday.
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“There is no possible justification for dropping cluster munitions in populated areas, let alone near a school,” said Agnes Callamard, the secretary general of Amnesty International. “This attack bears all the hallmarks of Russia’s use of this inherently indiscriminate and internationally-banned weapon, and shows flagrant disregard for civilian life.”
The cluster munitions struck at least seven locations on or near the building, and the indiscriminate nature of them is why they were banned under the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, though neither Ukraine nor Russia are among the more than 100 nations that have backed the agreement.
“While I was walking down [with] my wife, there were immediate explosions,” a man told an Amnesty International worker. “You see, everyone is covered with blood, everything. Look at it … [expletive], it kills me the fact it’s a kindergarten. What’s this they shoot at? At military objects? Where are those?”
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This could be a war crime, the group speculated, though it was not definitive, while it also noted that this is the fourth time since the conflict began that a Ukrainian school was hit.
Russia invaded Ukraine last week, and Ukrainian fighters have held off some Russian movements, though they are outmanned. The international community has collectively provided additional funding and weaponry to Ukraine as it hopes to defend its sovereignty, while NATO deployed its troops for the first time ever. The United States and other NATO allies have also sanctioned Russian elites, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and many of the country’s central banks.