According to the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, missile attacks on December 30 killed at least 21 people and injured 111. Moscow accuses Kiev of using banned weapons to kill civilians.
Russian news agency RIA Novosti quoted UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as saying: "Attacks on civilians and civil infrastructure violate international humanitarian law and must be stopped immediately."
Russia has requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on December 30. In a speech at the United Nations headquarters in New York, Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said that US and UK counselors helped plan the attacks on Belgorod. He warned that organizers and perpetrators of the attack will be punished.
The Russian Defense Ministry accused Kiev of using a cluster bomb missile in its attack on Belgorod. This weapon has been banned by more than 110 countries under the United Nations Convention since 2008, due to the extreme danger it poses to civilians. The use of cluster bombs in densely populated areas can lead to devastating consequences.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Kiev used many missile launchers to attack. One is Ukraine's Olkha system, capable of firing 12 guided missiles at the same time, hitting targets at a maximum range of 70 to 130km. The Russian Defense Ministry said that the Olkha missile is equipped with cluster bomb warheads.
According to the Russian military, a Czech-made RM70 Vampire - an upgraded version of the Soviet's BM-21 grade multiple rocket launcher - is also used.
Russian air defense forces intercepted most of the missiles in flight, but some hit the city. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, "in the case of a direct attack by an Olkha missile equipped with cluster bombs... the consequences will be much more serious".
The Russian military accused Ukraine of trying to attract public attention from its failures on the front lines, as well as inciting Moscow to carry out similar retaliatory attacks. Russia insists it will only attack military targets and infrastructure directly linked to these military facilities.
Robbers and cluster bullets are controversial weapons due to their design. They include dozens of small car bombs that can be spread over a large area when initially detonated, then can also cause a large number of smaller secondary explosions. However, some are often ineffective and still pose a threat for years or even decades.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in July that the use of cluster bombs must be considered a war crime. At the time, Washington said it would supply Kiev with cluster bombs from Cold War reserves, citing Ukraine's commitment not to use them in densely populated areas.
The US government also said both Russia and Ukraine have used cluster bombs throughout the conflict. However, the move has drawn widespread criticism even among US allies, including Canada, Germany and the UK.
President Putin said at the time that Moscow had the right to use its own cluster bombs in response. He added that Russia has previously limited the use of this weapon even when lacking other ammunition.
