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Forensic Report Confirms Russians Fired Brutal Metal Darts at Slain Bucha Civilians

The deadly projectiles, known as fléchettes, are rarely used in modern warfare.

Russian forces used small arrow-like projectiles rarely seen in modern warfare to kill dozens of Ukrainian civilians in the city of Bucha, according to a new report by Ukrainian forensic doctors. “We found several really thin, nail-like objects in the bodies of men and women and so did others of my colleagues in the region,” Vladyslav Priovskyi told The Guardian. “It is very hard to find those in the body, they are too thin. The majority of these bodies come from the Bucha-Irpin region.” The darts, anti-personnel weapons known as fléchettes, are not often used widely in the field of conflict, according to experts. Thousands are stored in tank or field gun shells to brutally disperse upon detonation, maximizing casualties. Though international humanitarian law does not outright forbid their usage, imprecise lethal weapons such as fléchettes are not allowed in densely populated civilian areas. “You don’t have to be an arms expert to understand that Russia ignored the rules of war in Bucha,” said Bucha Mayor Anatoliy Fedoruk. “Bucha was turned into a Chechen safari, where they used landmines against civilians.