July 2023 Lyman cluster bombing | |
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Part of the Russian invasion of Ukraine | |
Location | Lyman, Ukraine |
Date | 8 July 2023 |
Target | Ukrainian civilians |
Attack type | cluster munition bombing |
Deaths | 9[1] |
Injured | 13 |
Perpetrators | Russia |
Motive | Unknown |
On 8 July 2023, at around 9:55 a.m., during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Armed Forces shelled the residential area in the center of Lyman with 9M55K-series Smerch cluster munition. Lyman was at the time approximately 15 kilometers west of Russian-occupied territories. The bombing killed 9 civilians, while 13 were wounded.[2][3][4] It targeted the crossing of Nezalezhnosti and Dubonosa Streets, where locals were selling and trading vegetables grown in their gardens.[1]
It happened during Russia's failed military offensive towards Lyman. Due to the indiscriminate nature of these weapons used in densely populated areas, Human Rights Watch described these strikes as a possible war crime.[1] France likewise described this attack on civilians as a war crime and condemned Russia for it.[5]