Russia has ‘sufficient stockpile’ of cluster bombs and 'reserves right' to use them against Ukraine, says Vladimir Putin

In his first comments on the delivery of cluster munitions to Ukraine from the US, Mr Putin said Russia had not used cluster bombs in its war in Ukraine so far.

Speaking in an interview published on Sunday, Mr Putin said: "Until now, we have not done this, we have not used it [cluster bombs], and we have not had such a need." However, the use of cluster bombs by both Russia and Ukraine has been widely documented, including by international humanitarian organisations, and cluster rounds have been found in the aftermath of Russian strikes.

Rossiya TV reporter Pavel Zarubin published excerpts of the interview to his Telegram channel ahead of a scheduled broadcast on Sunday night.

The Pentagon said on Thursday that cluster munitions provided by the United States had arrived in Ukraine.

The munitions, which are bombs that open in the air and release scores of smaller bomblets, are seen by the US as a way to get Kyiv critically needed ammunition to help bolster its offensive and push through Russian front lines.

US leaders debated the thorny issue for months, before President Joe Biden made the final decision last week.

Cluster bombs have long been criticised by humanitarian groups, and some US allies, because those used in previous conflicts have had a high "dud rate", meaning they often leave behind unexploded bomblets that can harm civilians long after a battle has ended.

Proponents argue Russia has already been using cluster munitions in Ukraine and the weapons the US is providing have been improved to leave behind far fewer unexploded rounds.

Ukraine has promised to use them only away from densely populated areas.

On the ground, the Ukrainian military said in a regular update that over the previous 24 hours Russia had launched two Iranian-made Shahed exploding drones, two cruise missiles and two anti-aircraft guided missiles, in addition to 40 air strikes and 46 attacks from multiple rocket launchers.

The Ukrainian General Staff wrote Russia continues to concentrate on offensive operations in Ukraine's industrial east.

Donetsk regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said two residents of the region were killed on Saturday, and one other person was wounded.

Elsewhere in the country, two boys, aged eight and ten, were wounded when an explosive device left by Russian forces detonated in the southern region of Kherson on Sunday, according to the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office.

Regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said Russia had launched 69 shelling attacks against Kherson region.

A 59-year-old man died on Saturday when attempting to disarm a round in the regional capital, also called Kherson.