During post-mortems on citizens slain by Russian invaders in Bucha, Ukraine, and buried in mass graves, forensic physicians and pathologists discovered projectiles known as “fléchettes,” which were originally employed in World War I. Fléchettes were created as an anti-personnel weapon in 1915. Planes dropped the thin metal arrows above German trenches, and they were employed for their capacity to penetrate helmets and mutilate men who fell on them. The projectiles feature a pointed end to enter targets and metal fletching on the other end to stabilize flight, similar to a dart.
When contemporary shots, which are fired in vast numbers from shells, enter a victim, the shaft of the arrow commonly bends, sometimes into a u-shape, inflicting extensive tissue damage and making them difficult to remove. According to the Guardian, the fletching frequently falls off, resulting in a second wound close. Experts consulted by The Guardian and The Washington Post verified their usage in Ukraine, with scores of people believed to have died as a result of the rounds.
“We found numerous incredibly tiny, nail-like items in the corpses of men and women,” Ukrainian forensic expert Vladyslav Pirovskyi told the Guardian. “So did several of my colleagues in the region.” “It’s difficult to locate them in the body since they’re so tiny.” The bulk of these corpses originate in the Bucha-Irpin area.” Fléchettes, sometimes known as “meat grinder rounds” because of their terrible impact on flesh, were phased out of service at the conclusion of World War I when bombs proved to be more effective.
They were, nevertheless, employed by the US in Vietnam, both dispersed by explosives and loaded into rifles and shotguns, and the US examined them as an alternative to cluster bombs after the Convention on Cluster Munitions prohibited their use. According to accounts on the ground and research by the Wall Street Journal, Russia, which did not sign the pact, appears to be employing cluster bombs in Ukraine.
Though fléchettes have not been outlawed, their usage in civilian areas is fraught with controversy. After the Israeli Army deployed the rounds in Gaza in 2009, killing Palestinian civilians, including children, Amnesty International criticised their usage throughout the years. Later, Israel said that it will phase out the use of US-made tank-mounted shells in favor of more accurate rounds with “clear humanitarian advantages.” In addition to the damage inflicted by the rounds, the darts are chastised for their indiscriminate nature, particularly when used in congested places. Within a 300-meter by 100-meter radius, the bullets can kill humans.
