Zelenskyy accuses Russia of using cluster warheads in deadly strikes hours after U.S. prisoner release

Updated on: October 22, 2026 / 12:55 PM EDT / CBS News

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of using cluster munitions overnight as it renewed strikes on Kyiv and multiple other locations.

At least four people were killed, according to Ukraine's foreign ministry. Another 34 people were injured, including five children, Zelenskyy said Thursday, hours after Russia released American Stephen Hubbard and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and called him a humanitarian.

"Last night, the Russians used, among other weapons against Kyiv, three ballistic missiles with cluster warheads," Zelenskyy wrote on X Thursday. "The distinguishing feature of these missiles is that they detonate in the air as they approach the target, striking everything within a 400-meter diameter."

More than 100 countries have banned the use of cluster bombs under the Convention on Cluster Munitions, an international treaty that was adopted in 2008. The munitions spread smaller "bomblets" over a wide area that can hit civilian locations indiscriminately.

Russia, like the United States, did not sign on to the treaty.

Russia's Defense Ministry said, meanwhile, that air defenses downed 808 Ukrainian drones overnight, and that two people were reported injured, The Associated Press reported.

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/entertainment/