Aiming to Cause Maximum Civilian Devastation, Russia Uses Cluster Munitions in a Double-Tap Strike on Sumy

On the morning of Palm Sunday, April 13, 2025, Russian forces launched a devastating double-tap missile strike on the Ukrainian city of Sumy.

The first missile hit a civilian building in the city center. As emergency responders and bystanders rushed to help the wounded, a second missile struck—this time armed with cluster munitions—raining lethal bomblets over a crowded street.

At least 35 people have been confirmed dead, including two children. Another 120 were injured, among them 15 children, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service (DSNS), which continues to work at the scene.

“Only absolutely filthy scum could do this,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, responding to the “horrific attack”.

"There is no military base, and there are no soldiers here. It is simply a genocide... it is horror out there," Parvis Manakhov, who lives in the city centre of Sumy, told reporters as he described the “horrors” from the scene. 

Sumy's regional head, Volodymyr Artiukh, says Russia launched the strikes when the city was at its busiest, aiming to cause the maximum amount of destruction. "Many people were outside on the street. The enemy counted on inflicting the biggest damage to people and to the city of Sumy".

"The second ballistic missile was probably filled with fragmentation elements and exploded in the air to inflict maximum damage to people," regional military head Serhiy Kryvosheyenko says. 

Foreign leaders from around the world have condemned the brutal Russian attack on Sumy. 

Everyone knows: this war was initiated by Russia alone. And today, it is clear that Russia alone chooses to continue it — with blatant disregard for human lives, international law..To the victims, the wounded, and all of Ukraine that continues to resist: our solidarity, our respect, our unwavering commitment.

Emmanuel Macron

President of France

What is a double-tap strike?

The term ‘double-tap’ comes from a shooting technique of firing two shots in quick succession, at the same target, maximising the likelihood of elimination. Over time, Russia has expanded this firearm method to using a variety of missiles in an attempt to kill first responders, medical personnel, and civilians. 

Russia launches an initial attack, leaving enough time for people to attend the scene before launching a secondary strike, which usually results in the highest casualties. 

Such strikes are considered war crimes if proven to deliberately target civilians and rescuers, as they are in violation of International Humanitarian Law, including the Geneva Conventions of 1949, which forbids the targeting of civilians and the wounded.

Russia’s double-tap tactics began in Syria. Chargé d'Affaires at the US Mission to the OSCE, Timothy Hanway, in April 2024, said in Ukraine, “the Russian government is following its own example from Syria, where it carried out dozens of such airstrikes killing civilians, first responders, and humanitarian workers”. 

Hanway highlighted that Russia’s apparent use of this type of attack in Ukraine is increasing, and there are “clear patterns of international humanitarian law violations by Russian forces in their conduct of hostilities.”

What are cluster munitions?

Sumy Regional Administration confirmed that Russia struck Sumy yesterday with ballistic missiles, the second equipped with cluster munitions, causing extensive damage and casualties.

Cluster munitions are small explosive submunitions or "bomblets" that scatter over a wide area, killing and injuring large numbers of civilians indiscriminately. The number of submunitions can vary from several to more than 600, depending on the model. 

Most cluster munitions are designed to detonate upon impact and are free-falling, therefore can not be directed to military targets; anyone in the area is very likely to be injured or killed. 

Beyond initial destruction of their impact, some fail to detonate immediately as they have a high failure rate of between 10 - 40% according to the ICRC. 

Meaning that like landmines, cluster munitions pose an immense risk to civilians long after their initial use, killing or injuring people years after they were initially launched. 

Countries can be infested with tens of thousands, and sometimes millions, of unexploded and highly unstable submunitions. Due to their instability, clearing them is difficult and time-consuming. 

Cluster munition contamination often blocks access to essential services, such as emergency healthcare. They become a threat to displaced civilians returning to their homes, and make vital subsistence activities like farming hazardous for years, sometimes even decades after a war has ended. 

According to the Cluster Munition Monitor, in 2012 globally there were 1,172 civilian submunition casualties, 890 of which were in Ukraine from attacks by Russian forces.

When has Russia used double-tap and cluster munition strikes in Ukraine? 

Truth Hounds researchers verified 36 instances of double-tap strikes conducted by Russia from February 2022 to 31 August 2024. In 2024 alone, they recorded 20 documented cases of double-tap strikes, surpassing the combined totals for 2022 and 2023. However, Truth Hounds noted that the actual number of these attacks is likely significantly higher.

In these 36 verified instances, 74 medics, who arrived on the scene to help the injured, were killed.

They found over 60 incidents that displayed characteristics of Russia double-tapping Ukraine. The lack of official details available surrounding the incidents makes researchers unable to “definitively” classify all incidents as double-taps.

In the last month alone, there have been several devastating double-tap strikes against Ukraine, the most deadly using cluster munitions, including the recent attack in Sumy.

On April 4, 2025, a Russian Iskander missile armed with cluster munitions struck a residential neighborhood in Kryvyi Rih, killing at least 20 people, including nine children, and injuring over 70 more. 

It’s an unimaginable horror — nine children killed, most while playing in a park, as a military weapon exploded into shrapnel above them.

Volker Türk

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

The attack was described by the UN as the deadliest single strike against children since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

“The use of an explosive weapon with wide area effects by the Russian Federation in a densely populated area — and without any apparent military presence — demonstrates a reckless disregard for civilian life,” Volker Türk said.

On March 7, Russian forces launched a missile strike on the center of Dobropillia, Donetsk region, resulting in at least 11 fatalities and injuring more than 30 people, including five children. During fire and rescue efforts, Russian forces carried out a secondary strike, reportedly using a Shahed drone.

On the morning of March 12, 2025, Russia launched a double-tap missile strike on Kryvyi Rih, hitting a civilian infrastructure facility, killing one woman and injuring nine people.On March 14, 2025, Russian forces carried out another double-tap strike on a hospital in Zolochiv, Kharkiv region. 

On July 24, 2024, Russia used cluster munitions in its double-tap strike against Kharkiv. “We are absolutely sure that the second time they fired a cluster munition to hit the rescuers and the policemen who were there,” Volodymyr Tymoshko, head of the National Police in Kharkiv Oblast, said. 

In September 2024, Russia used a cluster munition double-tap strike in Kharkiv, killing two people and injuring 7. After the first strike, rescue workers attended the scene, and Russia struck again. Three rescue workers were among the injured. 

Russian forces have increasingly relied on precision-guided missile systems, particularly the Iskander (9K720) ballistic missile system with cluster munitions, for these attacks. Ballistic missiles are considered to be highly precise, enabling Russia to hit nearly the same target during its secondary strike. 

The combination of Russia’s double-tap strike tactic and cluster munitions is doubly deadly, with the undeniable aim of causing a devastating amount of civilian casualties.

Who is Russia targeting in its double-tap strikes?

Regardless of Russia’s initial target, the second strike primarily kills civilians and medics. 

On 10 April 2024, a missile struck a railway bridge and a petrol station in Chornomorsk. Roman Yukhevych, a combat medic and member of the Ukrainian Rescue Service, arrived at the scene and, while delivering first aid, he was killed in a second strike by Russia 11 minutes later. 

Gas pipes have been damaged in strikes, resulting in severe fires, making it difficult for firefighters to extinguish the blaze. Gas workers have been called to shut off the gas supply and have been killed. On 7 August 2023, in Pokrovsk, a gas service worker was killed while responding to a call to secure damaged pipelines. 

During a double-tap attack on Kharkiv on 4 April 2024, two journalists were injured. The following day, two were wounded in a similar attack on Zaporizhzhia.

Russia’s repeated employment of double-tap strikes is a serious violation of international humanitarian law, significantly endangering civilians and rescue workers. 

The attack on Sumy is a “horrific example of Russia intensifying attacks while Ukraine has accepted an unconditional ceasefire,” Kaja Kallas, EU foreign policy representative, wrote on X. 

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has condemned the strike as an act of terrorism and urged the international community to intensify pressure on Russia.