In 2025, cluster munitions killed or wounded at least 1,063 people worldwide — one of the highest annual tolls ever recorded — with Ukraine bearing 87 percent of that burden for the fourth consecutive year. Most victims were civilians, including at least 34 children spread across nine countries, their fates shaped not only by active conflict but by weapons that linger in soil and rubble long after wars have moved on. The international framework meant to prevent such harm is fraying: a major signatory withdrew from the treaty, evidence points to continued production and use by numerous states,
Cluster munitions kill, wound 1,063 globally in 2025, near-record toll
At least 1,063 people, predominantly civilians including 34 children, were killed or injured by cluster munitions in 2025, with the actual toll likely higher due to unreported casualties.
The weapons keep working long after the fighting stops.
Mark
So 1,063 people in a single year—how does that compare to what we've seen before?
Mimi
It's one of the highest on record. The worst year was 2022, right after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, when 1,172 people were killed or wounded. Last year came close to that.
Luke
But the report says the actual number is likely higher because many casualties go unreported. So we're working with a floor, not a ceiling.
Mimi
Exactly. In active conflict zones, especially in places like Ukraine, not every casualty gets documented. The 1,063 is what researchers could verify.
Mark
And Ukraine is driving most of this?
Mimi
Overwhelmingly. Eighty-seven percent of the global total. That's four years in a row now.
Luke
Which means if you remove Ukraine from the equation, the global toll drops to about 138 people across nine other countries. That's a very different story.
Mark
Why is Ukraine so much worse?
Mimi
Russia has used cluster munitions extensively throughout the invasion. Ukraine has also used them. The scale of the conflict, the territory involved, the duration—it all adds up.
Mark
And the international treaty is supposed to prevent this?
Luke
It's supposed to, but enforcement is weak. The US and Russia both voted against the UN resolution promoting it for the first time ever. That's a significant shift.
Mimi
And there's evidence that countries are still producing these weapons, even ones that signed the treaty. Mali is a party to the convention but has used cluster munitions.
Mark
So the treaty is essentially unraveling?
Luke
Not unraveling exactly—it still has 112 states parties. But the major powers are no longer pretending to support it, and production is continuing in at least nine countries. The framework exists, but the political consensus behind it is gone.
Der Puls
- At least 1,063 people were killed or injured by cluster munitions in 2025 — a near-record toll that experts believe significantly undercounts the true human cost.
- Ukraine has become the epicenter of this crisis, absorbing 87% of global casualties for the fourth straight year as the weapons saturate its landscape with both immediate and delayed death.
- The danger does not end with conflict: unexploded submunitions lie dormant in fields and roads, waiting for a child, a farmer, or a passing vehicle to trigger them years later.
- The Convention on Cluster Munitions — the treaty designed to end this harm — is losing ground, with Lithuania withdrawing, multiple nations continuing to produce and deploy the weapons, and the US and Russia opposing the UN resolution supporting the treaty for the first time.
- Cuts to US foreign aid in 2025 gutted clearance programs, directly contributing to at least 117 additional deaths and injuries, shrinking the safety net that protects civilians from weapons already in the ground.
In 2025, cluster munitions killed or wounded at least 1,063 people worldwide — one of the highest annual tolls ever recorded — with Ukraine bearing 87 percent of that burden for the fourth consecutive year. Most victims were civilians, including at least 34 children spread across nine countries, their fates shaped not only by active conflict but by weapons that linger in soil and rubble long after wars have moved on. The international framework meant to prevent such harm is fraying: a major signatory withdrew from the treaty, evidence points to continued production and use by numerous states, and for the first time, both the United States and Russia voted against the UN resolution that has long championed the convention. What is being measured here is not only the reach of a weapon, but the retreat of a collective promise.
In 2025, cluster munitions killed or wounded at least 1,063 people around the world — a toll that ranks among the worst ever recorded, and one that almost certainly understates the true scale of harm. Many casualties go undocumented, swallowed by the chaos of active conflict zones. Most of those counted were civilians. At least 34 were children, scattered across nine countries: Afghanistan, Cambodia, Iraq, Laos, Lebanon, Myanmar, Russia, Syria, and Ukraine.
The distribution was far from even. Ukraine alone accounted for 87 percent of the global total — the fourth consecutive year the country has held that grim distinction. The concentration is so severe that Ukraine now defines the entire global picture of cluster munition harm.
The weapons are designed to spread destruction across wide areas. A single munition opens in the air and scatters dozens or hundreds of smaller explosives below. Many of those submunitions never detonate on impact. They wait — in fields, in roads, in the ruins of buildings — sometimes for years, until a child picks one up or a farmer disturbs the soil. The danger outlasts the conflict that created it.
The Convention on Cluster Munitions, which took effect in 2010, was meant to end this cycle. It now has 112 states parties, but its authority is eroding. Lithuania became the first country to withdraw from the treaty last March. Researchers documented cluster munition use by Iran, Myanmar, Russia, Thailand, Ukraine, and Mali — the last of which is itself bound by the convention. New production has been detected in at least nine countries, and intelligence suggests the United States is preparing to manufacture the weapons again.
In December, both the US and Russia voted against the annual UN General Assembly resolution supporting the convention — the first time either nation had done so. The signal was clear: the major powers are withdrawing from the commitment. Meanwhile, cuts to US foreign assistance disrupted clearance operations in affected regions, contributing directly to at least 117 additional deaths and injuries. The weapons keep working long after the fighting stops, and the systems built to protect people from them are shrinking.
Last year, cluster munitions killed or wounded at least 1,063 people across the globe—a toll that ranks among the worst on record. The actual number is almost certainly higher. Many casualties never make it into any official count, their deaths and injuries absorbed into the chaos of active conflict zones or simply never documented by anyone with the means to report them.
Most of those 1,063 were civilians. At least 34 were children. They were scattered across nine countries: Afghanistan, Cambodia, Iraq, Laos, Lebanon, Myanmar, Russia, Syria, and Ukraine. But the distribution was not even. Ukraine alone accounted for 87 percent of the global total—the fourth year running that the country has held this grim distinction. The scale of cluster munition casualties there has become so dominant that it now defines the global picture.
Cluster munitions work by design to spread harm indiscriminately. A single weapon opens in mid-air and disperses dozens or hundreds of smaller explosives across a wide area. The problem does not end when the weapon lands. Many of these submunitions fail to detonate on impact. They sit in fields, in buildings, in roads—dormant but live—waiting for a child to pick one up, for a farmer to plow a field, for a vehicle to pass over. Years after a conflict ends, these weapons continue to kill and wound.
The international community attempted to address this threat in 2010, when the Convention on Cluster Munitions took effect following negotiations in Oslo. The treaty prohibits the use, production, and stockpiling of cluster munitions. It now has 112 states parties and 12 signatories. But enforcement has proven difficult, and compliance has fractured. Lithuania became the first and only country to withdraw from the convention, doing so in March of last year.
More troubling still is the evidence of continued use and production. Researchers documented cluster munition use by Iran, Myanmar, Russia, Thailand, Ukraine, and Mali—a country that is itself bound by the convention. There are also unverified reports of use by Israel and the United States in Iran, by Pakistan in Afghanistan, by Houthi forces in Israel, and by Israel in Lebanon. Meanwhile, new production has been detected in China, India, Israel, Myanmar, North Korea, Poland, Romania, Russia, and South Korea. Intelligence suggests the United States is planning to manufacture cluster munitions again.
The political will to enforce the treaty has eroded. In December, both the United States and Russia voted against an annual UN General Assembly resolution promoting the convention—the first time either nation has done so since the resolution was first introduced. The message was unmistakable: the major powers are stepping back from the commitment.
There is one more layer to the human cost. Cuts to US foreign assistance in 2025 disrupted efforts to clear cluster munition remnants from conflict zones. That disruption alone resulted in at least 117 deaths and injuries. The weapons keep working long after the fighting stops, and the infrastructure to protect civilians from them is shrinking.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
The actual number is likely higher as many casualties go unreported.— Cluster Munition Coalition annual report
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