Comments by "R Johansen" (@rjohansen9486) on "Russian Iskander, KH-22 Missiles Slam Into Ukrainian Cities As Air Defense System Fails | Watch" video.
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During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian authorities and armed forces have committed war crimes by carrying out deliberate attacks against civilian target and indiscriminate attacks in densely populated areas.
The Russian military exposed the civilian population to unnecessary and disproportionate harm by using cluster munitions and by firing other explosive weapons with wide-area effects such as bombs, missiles, heavy artillery shells and multiple launch rockets. As of the beginning of July 2023, the attacks had resulted in the documented deaths of between 9,300 and 16,500 civilians.
On 22 April 2022, the UN reported that 92.3% of civilian fatalities were attributable to the Russian armed forces. On 5 July 2022, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Michelle Bachelet reported that most of the civilian casualties documented by her office had been caused by the Russian army's repeated use of explosive weapons in populated areas. Bachelet said that the heavy civilian toll from the use of such indiscriminate weapons and tactics had become "indisputable". From 24 February 2022 to 30 June 2023, OHCHR assessed that 90.5% of all civilian fatalities were killed by explosive weapons with wide area effects, and that 84.2% of them were recorded on the Ukrainian-controlled territory. El País estimated that by March 2023 the Russian forces were firing at a rate of between 600,000 and 1.8 million shells per month.
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- During the first 4 weeks of the war: Between February 24 and March 21, 2022, sixty-four medical facilities and their personnel were targeted by Russian forces in Ukraine, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported. The facilities were being hit at rate of two to three a day, inflicting 15 deaths and 37 injuries.
- During the first year: More than 700 attacks on hospitals, health workers, and other medical infrastructure in Ukraine have been reported in the year since the Russian invasion began, according to an investigation by human rights groups. A report—Destruction and Devastation: One Year of Russia’s Assault on Ukraine’s Health Care System—found there were an average of two attacks every day between 24 February and 31 December 2022. These included hospitals being bombed, medics being tortured, and ambulances being shot at. Over that period, there were 292 attacks that damaged or destroyed 218 hospitals and clinics, 181 attacks on other health infrastructure (such as pharmacies, blood centres, and dental clinics), and 65 attacks on ambulances. There were also 86 attacks on healthcare workers, with 62 killed and 52 injured. “Healthcare workers, who became witnesses, talk about the horrific crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine,” said Lyubov Smachylo, analyst for the Media Initiative for Human Rights. “Some were held hostage by the Russian military, others were under fire, and some were forced to work under occupation.
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Since the beginning of the conflict, Amnesty International has documented war crimes, including the targeting of critical civilian infrastructure and blocking of aid for civilians. Civilians in conflict-affected areas have been exposed to constant attacks and often cut off from water, electricity and heating. Many people living in Russian-occupied areas remain in dire need of humanitarian assistance or medical care, yet are being denied the right to travel to Ukrainian government-controlled territories. “The people of Ukraine have suffered unimaginable horror during this war of aggression over the last 12 months. Let us be clear: the hands of Vladimir Putin and his armed forces are stained with blood. Survivors deserve justice and reparations for all they have endured. The international community must stand steadfast to see this through to the end so that justice is served. One year in, it’s patently clear more must be done.” Tens of thousands of cases of war crimes have been filed, including of sexual and gender-based crimes, but the number of victims of the ongoing conflict will be much higher.
The Deputy to the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Adedeji Ebo, May 2023: “After almost 15 months of the Russian Federation’s military offensive into Ukraine, suffering, loss, displacement and destruction continue to form part of an unbearable routine”, said Mr. Ebo. “In addition to the thousands of civilians killed and injured, the destruction of essential critical infrastructure and services is particularly alarming. In the beginning 4 months of the war, The Russians destroyed over 300 bridges in Ukraine. Homes, schools, roads, and bridges have been destroyed and damaged”, he continued. “Attacks on energy infrastructure have interrupted power, heating, drinking water supply and sewage facilities, as well as mobile and internet communications. Hospitals and health facilities have been attacked, killing and injuring healthcare workers and disrupting essential services.
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Aljazeera: Putin targets Ukrainian civilians because he could in Syria. The Syrianisation of the Ukraine war is no coincidence. Russia got away with it once — and believes it will again. In 2015, when Russia began its military intervention in Syria, it seemed that the barbarism in the region was too significant for the international community to turn away from.
Abundant reports by United Nations commissions, as well as accountability, human rights, and humanitarian organisations, documented war crimes with pictures, videos, and firsthand testimony. The world has watched countless incidents of missiles destroying hospitals or mutilated Syrian children covered in dust and blood being pulled from the rubble of destroyed apartment buildings.
By some accounts, the documentation of war crimes in Syria is the strongest evidence since the crimes of the Nazis in World War II. And yet, the international community failed to act. No one was held accountable. Syria was a test case for the resolve of the world on how to respond to a brutal aggressor that justifies attacking civilians and hospitals. Inaction in Syria gave Putin the green light to start another brutal war to swallow another big chunk of territory from his neighbor, Ukraine.
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