Russian state TV depicts use of cluster bombs in Syria

Late last week, English-language news channel Russia Today broadcast footage of of Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu visiting Russia’s Khmeimim Airbase in Syria's northwestern Latakia province.

The footage shows Shoygu inspecting the base, along with images of Russian warplanes carrying out airstrikes in Syria using what appear to be RBK-500 ZAB 2.5SM incendiary cluster bombs.

After the footage was widely shared on the internet, Russia Today broadcast a re-edited version of it on Sunday, omitting the roughly five seconds of video that appeared to depict the use of cluster bombs in Syria.

On Tuesday, CIT, an open-source intelligence outfit based in Russia and Ukraine devoted to tracking Russian military activity, published an analysis comparing the original footage with the edited version.

Shortly afterward, Russia Today rebroadcast the original, unedited version of the footage.

Speaking on Russia’s RBC television channel on Tuesday, Russia Today spokesman Anton Vorontsev conceded that a certain part of the video had been cut, which, he said, had shown a Russian fighter pilot, who, it was feared, could be exposed to security risks as a result.

The original footage, Vorontsev said, was later rebroadcast once it was decided that it posed no threat to the pilot.

The use of cluster munitions is banned by an international treaty signed by 100 countries. Russia, however, is not a signatory to the convention.

Anadolu Agency