Russia continues to use ballistic-missiles and Shahed-type drones to strike Ukrainian civilians despite a catastrophic fuel shortage at home, which has prompted the first widespread criticism of Vladimir Putin and expressions of dissent in many years.
The Russian army on the front lines is also experiencing significant fuel shortages and has consequently been forced to curtail its offensive capabilities.
Yet, every night, Russia continues to launch drones, bombs and missiles at Ukrainian cities. Russian drone operators have also targeted Ukrainian civilians indiscriminately in several cities, including Zaporizhzhia, while recording and disseminating footage of their crimes.
Apart from deliberately targeting Ukrainian civilians, Russia has also targeted hundreds of Ukrainian heritage sites and historic churches and monasteries.
Last year, Russian strikes against Ukrainian civilians escalated significantly, and they have continued to increase this year.
Russia’s use of air strikes against Ukrainian civilians is a terrorist tactic that it has consistently employed to coerce the Ukrainian people into abandoning their resistance to the invasion and to break their morale. Eventually, such demoralisation could lead to political upheaval or a change of government.
Having failed to make significant gains on the front lines, and with Ukraine now turning the tide in several areas, including the southern region of Zaporizhzhia, Russia most affective tactic is to terrorise civilians.
Russia’s targeting of historical sites is also deliberate and forms part of its campaign to erase the culture and history of the Ukrainian nation. This strategy has its origins in the core Russophile argument that Ukraine is fundamentally part of Russia. The erasure of history and cultural memory in this case is perpetuated with genocidal intent, and has been also similarly and notoriously perpetrated by the Taliban and ISIS.
Ultimately, Russia’s war is also driven by genocidal intent, making Ukrainian lives appear worth even less to the Russian state than the lives of its own citizens. Russia’s military strategy, incidentally, focuses heavily on force of numbers, resulting in consistently high losses among Russian soldiers. As many as 100,000 people were reportedly killed in Mariupol alone when Russia invaded and occupied the city in 2022.
Russia previously used air strikes to terrorise civilians in Syria, where it repeatedly carried out double-tap attacks on civilian sites, including medical facilities and hospitals. It is now once again employing double-tap strikes against civilian targets in Ukraine.
Footage of Kyiv following yesterday’s ballistic missile strikes.
Newsroom
Leave a Reply