Russia has not yet endorsed the Political Declaration on the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. It did not actively participate in the negotiations towards a Political Declaration.
Statements and positions
Russia has rarely referenced the issue of explosive weapons in populated areas in multilateral forums. At the UN General Assembly First Committee in 2022, however, it noted the harmful use of explosive weapons in populated areas across the world1, and in 2025 – in reference to Russian civilian casualties – said most “were caused by the shelling of civilian infrastructure using explosive weapons and small arms and light weapons”. 2 At the UN Security Council open debate on war in cities in January 2022, Russia argued that non-state armed groups have used hospitals, schools, and other civilian areas for military purposes, “turning them into legitimate targets for attack.” Without explicitly referencing the work to create a political declaration on the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, Russia objected to “attempts to invent endless innovative concepts to fill imaginary lacunae,” which it argued dilutes international norms. It argued that existing treaties and legal framework like International Humanitarian Law (IHL) are sufficient to protect civilians, including in urban warfare, and that IHL norms have a particular degree of “flexibility” to ensure precautions taken correspond to the context. 3