Cluster munitions kill, wound over 1,000 globally in 2025

Cluster munitions have killed or injured at least 1,063 people in 2025, one of the highest annual tolls on record, according to a report produced by a global network of researchers.

Most casualties were civilians, including at least 34 children, the Cluster Munition Coalition’s annual report said on Tuesday. Deaths and injuries were recorded in Afghanistan, Cambodia, Iraq, Laos, Lebanon, Myanmar, Russia, Syria and Ukraine.

Ukraine had the highest number of recorded casualties for the fourth consecutive year in 2025, accounting for 87 percent of the global total.

The actual number is likely higher as many casualties go unreported, the report said. The highest toll was recorded in 2022, 1,172, following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine that year.

Cluster munitions consist of small compartments that disperse small explosives indiscriminately, posing significant danger to civilian populations. Explosives can remain undetonated long after they are dispersed.

Adopted during the Oslo Process, the Convention on Cluster Munitions took effect in 2010 after Norway and several other countries aimed to create an international treaty to protect civilians from the controversial explosive weapons.

The convention prohibits the use, production, and collection of cluster munitions. The treaty has 112 states parties and 12 signatories. Lithuania is the first and only country to withdraw from the convention in March.

The Cluster Munition Coalition reported that cluster munitions were used by Iran, Myanmar, Russia, Thailand, Ukraine, and Mali, which is a party to the convention.

The report added that while it was not able to verify the claims, there were reports of use by Israel and the US in Iran, by Pakistan in Afghanistan, by Houthi forces in Israel, and by Israel in Lebanon.

Evidence of new production was found in China, India, Israel, Myanmar, North Korea, Poland, Romania, Russia, and South Korea. The report added that evidence suggests that the US plans new production of cluster munitions in the future.

The US and Russia voted against an annual resolution promoting the convention in the United Nations General Assembly in December, for the first time since it was introduced.

The report said the cuts in US foreign assistance last year disrupted clearance of cluster munition remnants, which resulted in the death and injury of at least 117 people in 2025.

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