Amnesty International on Monday accused Russia of war crimes in Ukraine, saying attacks in Kharkiv, many of them with banned cluster bombs, killed hundreds of civilians.

“Repeated bombings of residential neighborhoods in Kharkiv are indiscriminate attacks that have killed and injured hundreds of civilians, and as such constitute war crimes,” the human rights group said in a report on Ukraine’s second largest city.

During an extensive investigation, we have found evidence of Russian forces repeatedly using 9N210/9N235 cluster munitions as well as scatterable mines, both of which are subject to international treaty bans because of their indiscriminate effects.

— Amnesty International (@amnesty) June 13, 2022

“This applies to attacks with cluster munitions as well as those carried out with unmanned missiles and artillery shells,” the group said in a statement.

Bombs and landmines

Amnesty said it had found evidence in Kharkiv of repeated use by Russian forces of 9N210 and 9N235 cluster munitions and landmines, which are banned under international conventions.

Cluster bombs drop dozens of bombs or grenades into the air, scattering them hundreds of square feet.

Landmines combine “the worst possible components of cluster munitions and anti-personnel landmines,” the human rights group said.

Uncontrolled artillery shells have an error probability of more than 100 meters.

The report, entitled “Anyone Can Die at Any Time,” details how Russian forces began targeting civilian areas in Kharkiv on the first day of aggression on February 24.

The “ruthless” bombing continued for two months, causing “severe destruction” in the city of 1.5 million.

“People were killed in their homes and on the streets, in playgrounds and in cemeteries, while queuing for humanitarian aid, or buying food and medicine,” said Donatella Rovera, Amnesty International’s senior crisis response adviser.

“The repeated and large-scale use of banned cluster munitions is shocking and a further indication of the complete disregard for the lives of civilians. “The Russian forces responsible for these horrific attacks must be held accountable.”

“She had no chance”

The Kharkiv military administration told the group that 606 civilians had been killed and 1,248 wounded in the region since the beginning of the conflict.

Amnesty International stated that “international humanitarian law prohibits the use of indiscriminate attacks” … and that such attacks resulting in the death or injury of civilians, or damage to civilian property, constitute war crimes “.

A witness who spoke to the group said he had survived cancer to lose both legs to a Russian cluster bomb.

Olena Sorokina, 57, was outside her building when she was shot. She lost one leg instantly and the other had to be amputated afterwards.

A neighbor of hers was killed on the spot. His daughter said fragments of the bomb exploded in the building.

“If mum had been inside the house, she would have been shot. She had no chance in the face of such a bombing,” she said.

Amnesty investigated 41 Russian attacks that killed at least 62 people and injured at least 196. The group spoke to 160 people in Kharkiv over two weeks in April and May, including survivors, relatives of victims, witnesses and doctors.

Ukraine says it has launched more than 12,000 war crimes investigations since the beginning of the aggression.