MOSCOW, October 23 /TASS/. The use of cluster munitions in Ukraine is a crime, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Alexander Lukashevich said on Thursday.

Lukashevich said the Human Rights Watch report on the use of cluster bombs by government forces in Ukraine reveals the barbaric nature of the military operation in eastern Ukraine.

“The use of cluster munitions in populated localities is a gross violation of international law and can be classified as a war crime,” the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson stressed.

“We have given a careful study to the document, expert data and the evidence of large-scale use of cluster munitions during the punitive operation,” the Russian diplomat went on to say.

Lukashevich said there was convincing proof that the Ukrainian authorities were to blame for several cluster munitions use episodes, including the shelling of Donetsk when a Red Cross employee was killed.

Moscow is urging “the international community to influence Kiev and make it give up the use of cluster munitions,” the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.