Russia Used Cluster Munitions in Monday’s Power Grid Strike, Says Ukraine

Russia used cluster munitions against “civilian objects” in Ukraine during Monday’s massive missile strike, said President Volodymyr Zelensky.

On Monday, Aug. 26, Russian drones and missiles battered Ukraine’s power grid across 15 regions, killing at least 4 people and forcing authorities to introduce emergency blackouts.

In his evening address on Monday, Zelensky said repair work on energy infrastructure was ongoing, and that engineers could proceed only after the facilities are demined.

“In some places, the terrorist state attacked civilian objects with cluster munitions. The sappers have to work before the power engineers start repairs,” Zelensky said, adding in a later announcement that protective structures over energy facilities were “examined in detail” during a government meeting.

Moscow used “at least 127 missiles and 109 drones” during Monday’s strike, Zelensky said.

Data released by the Ukrainian Air Force showed that Moscow used Kinzhal hypersonic missiles and North Korean KN-23 ballistic missiles (based on Russia’s Iskander-M missile) alongside various types of drones and missiles on Monday.

Cluster munitions, which disperse explosives called submunitions over a wide area, are prohibited under the Convention on Cluster Munitions. However, neither Ukraine nor Russia is a signatory state to the convention.

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