cluster munition ...

 A cluster munition is an air-dropped or ground-fired weapon that releases or discharges a large number of explosive submunitions (small munitions), each designed to detonate spontaneously upon reaching its target.

Key characteristics of cluster munitions are:

Wide dispersion: These munitions are designed to disperse submunitions over a wide area, making them effective against dispersed targets such as columns of military vehicles or airstrips.

Risk to civilians: Many submunitions fail to detonate on initial impact. These unexploded submunitions act as effective landmines, posing a serious and deadly danger to civilians—especially children—for years after a conflict has ended.

International Controversy: Because of the long-term risks to civilians, cluster munitions are highly controversial. Their use has been banned by many countries under the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), an international treaty prohibiting the use, production, stockpiling, and transfer of such weapons. However, several countries, including the United States, Russia, and China, have not ratified this treaty.

Countries known to have used cluster bombs:

Germany: The first to use cluster bombs operationally during World War II with the SD-2.

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United States: Used these bombs in World War II, the Vietnam War in Cambodia, the 2003 Iraq War, and supplied them to Ukraine in the current conflict.

Russia/Soviet Union: Used them in various conflicts, including Afghanistan, Chechnya, Georgia (2008), Syria, and extensively in the current invasion of Ukraine.

Israel: Used cluster bombs in the Yom Kippur War (1973), the 1978 invasion of Lebanon, and again in the 2006 Lebanon war against Hezbollah.

United Kingdom: Used these munitions alongside the US during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Yugoslavia: Used them during the 1992-1995 Bosnian War.

Thailand: Admitted to using cluster munitions during the border conflict with Cambodia in 2011.

Syria: Confirmed to have used cluster munitions in its internal armed conflict.

Ukraine: Also using cluster munitions in its ongoing conflict with Russia.

The use of cluster munitions in recent conflicts, particularly by Russia and Ukraine, has drawn strong criticism from human rights organizations due to the significant risk to civilians, given that many submunitions fail to detonate and become landmines after the conflict ends.