The Economist explains

What are flechettes, a brutal weapon used in Ukraine?

They kill and maim indiscriminately and are uncommon in modern warfare

BUCHA, UKRAINE - APRIL 16: Svitlana Chmut holds flechettes, small arrow-like projectiles dispersed by a Russian artillery shell, on April 16, 2022 in Bucha, Ukraine. (Photo by Alex Horton/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

RESIDENTS OF BUCHA, a town on the outskirts of Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, report finding thousands of miniature darts embedded in buildings and cars. The metal projectiles, less than 3cm long and known as flechettes, from the French for “little arrows”, have a particularly brutal reputation and are unusual in modern warfare. Why is Russia using them?

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