DISINFO: Recent strikes were aimed legitimate targets under the laws of war
SUMMARY
In the eight months since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine, the Russian Army restricted the operation to Ukrainian military targets, and avoided fighting the conflict in the same way that the Ukrainian military has since it began its terror bombing and shelling civilians in the Donbass in 2014.
Monday’s strikes were aimed at targets which are legitimate under the laws of war.
RESPONSE
The claim is part of an ongoing pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign concerning Russia’s criminal invasion of Ukraine.
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At least 14 people have died and 95 were injured during the Monday strikes. Children's playground were among Russia's targets. As of 10 October 2022, the Russian aggression in Ukraine has resulted in at least 15,592 civilian casualties.
A non-exhaustive list of the Russian Army’s exploits in Ukraine would include the rape and torture of children; massacres of civilians; deliberate attacks against non-combatants; widespread use of cluster munitions in civilian areas; hospital bombings; forced disappearances and torture of civilians; mass deportations to Russia; and attacks on cultural heritage sites.
Evidence of these crimes, which continues to mount daily, is being recorded by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and others.
Concerning the claim that Kyiv is waging a "civil war" on its own civilians, the conflict is a well-documented act of aggression by Russian armed forces, ongoing since February 2014. There is irrefutable evidence of direct Russian military involvement in Eastern Ukraine, in the Donbas. Russia is supporting its proxies with weapons, its active-duty soldiers serve there and its top military commanders visit the war zone to coordinate joint efforts with the separatists.