Cluster munitions caused at least 1,063 casualties in 2025, report finds
Civilians made up most recorded victims, while Ukraine accounted for 87 per cent of the global total, according to the Cluster Munition Coalition.
At least 1,063 people were killed or injured by cluster munitions worldwide in 2025, making it one of the highest annual tolls recorded, the Cluster Munition Coalition has reported.
Most of the recorded casualties were civilians, including at least 34 children. Ukraine accounted for 87 per cent of the total and recorded the highest toll for the fourth consecutive year.
Casualties were recorded in Afghanistan, Cambodia, Iraq, Laos, Lebanon, Myanmar, Russia, Syria and Ukraine. The coalition said the figure was a minimum estimate because many casualties go unreported.
The highest annual toll was 1,172 casualties in 2022, following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Cluster munitions disperse multiple smaller explosives, some of which can remain undetonated and threaten civilians long after their use.
The Convention on Cluster Munitions, which took effect in 2010, prohibits the use, production and stockpiling of the weapons. It has 112 states parties and 12 signatories. Lithuania became the first country to withdraw from the convention in March.
The coalition also said cuts to US foreign assistance disrupted clearance of unexploded cluster-munition remnants, linking the disruption to at least 117 deaths and injuries in 2025.
