Sticking out of pavements, lodged in apartments and half buried in playgrounds, unexploded missiles appear to be littering Ukraine.

But many of the grey shells, tail fins and all, shown in video clips and social media posts around the country are likely to be signs that Russia is using devastating and indiscriminate cluster bombs.

A growing body of evidence suggests Russia is using missiles that carry sub-munitions then spread and explode over a larger area, increasing the potential for damage and civilian casualties.

After the sub-munitions have been dispensed, the rocket motor and warhead carrying the cargo continue on their trajectory, frequently embedding themselves into the ground.

Amnesty International claims cluster bombs hit a preschool in northwestern Ukraine on Friday, killing three people, including a child.

Amnesty said the attack “appears to have been carried out by Russian forces, which were operating nearby, and which have a record of using cluster munitions in populated areas”.

“There is no possible justification for dropping cluster munitions in populated areas, let alone near a school,” Secretary General Agnes Callamard said.