Russian Forces in Ukraine have Destroyed Almost 60 Times More Civilian Facilities than Military Ones, Kyiv Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, July 24 – Over the first five months of Putin’s war in Ukraine, Russian forces there have destroyed 17,300 civilian buildings and only about 300 military ones, a ratio of almost 60 to one, the Ukrainian government says. And that pattern, commentator say, suggests the Russians are seeking to terrorize the population even more than inflict direct military defeats.

            These shocking figures, reported at mvs.gov.ua/uk/news/jevgenii-jenin-z-pocatku-sirokomasstabnogo-vtorgnennya-rosiyani-nanesli-17-314-udariv-po-civilnix-objektax-v-ukrayini, are especially horrific given Moscow’s claims about targeting only military objects and using only extremely accurate weapons (storage.googleapis.com/istories/investigations/2022/07/25/pochemu-rossiya-bombit-zhilie-doma-bolnitsi-shkoli-i-khrami/index.html).

            That leaves only a limited number of possibilities: either Moscow is simply lying about what it is doing, has bad intelligence, lacks accurate weapons systems, or is purposefully targeting civilian homes, hospitals, and schools in an effort to spread terror and undermine the Russian war effort. Ukrainian and Russian observers argue the last is the most likely.

            In any case, what Russia is doing is a war crime and in addition a crime against humanity, one more reason to support Ukraine in its efforts to defeat the Russian invasion of that country.