War crimes and propaganda

Russia has been accused of committing war crimes in Ukraine, in an attempt to thwart the country’s resistance through panic. The accusations are backed up by recorded evidence of civilian buildings being directly targeted by Russian missiles. Russia is resorting to targeting civilians, as they are taking substantial losses and the war is starting to prove too costly for them.

Credit: CHRIS MCGARTH, GETTY IMAGES

Kyiv is still under complete Ukrainian control, as the military and locals are putting up feverous resistance. Fighting has erupted on the streets of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. For the past three days, Ukrainian forces had been able to safeguard Kharkiv from Russian troops.

The unjustified Russian attack on Ukraine is already in its fourth day. Despite being significantly more prepared, Russia has been unable to seize key cities, as regular Ukrainians and reservists band together to protect their homes and families.

On Saturday, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal claimed Russia's onslaught was failing and that the country was now purposefully hitting civilian facilities, such as kindergartens, apartment buildings, and "buses with children," which he called "war crimes."

Credit: Genya Savilov, AFP

Russian troops are being met by a highly motivated resistance by Ukrainians, greatly slowing down the advancement of the offensive. Russia is facing major difficulties supplying its forces and is suffering heavy losses. Russia has also been completely incapable of establishing air supremacy over Ukraine.

Concerns are mounting that Russia may seek to smash Ukrainian troops decisively by using indiscriminate combat munitions in civilian areas.

Despite Russia's claims that it is not targeting civilian facilities, data on the ground shows otherwise.

According to a local hospital, a 6-year-old kid was killed amid heavy gunfire in a western area of Kyiv on Saturday evening.

According to Ukraine's State Emergency Service, a lady was killed after a nine-story residential structure in the eastern city of Kharkiv was hit by "enemy artillery" on Saturday night.

Russia’s propaganda machine is working tirelessly to deceive its population that Ukraine and NATO are the aggressors and that the fighting is contained only in the separatist regions. Increasingly fewer people are trusting Russian media, however. Distrust towards the government is growing, as Russia’s economy is crashing.

Thousands have already been arrested at anti-war protests in Russia. The way things are going, Putin’s days seem numbered, as Navalny might get an early release from prison.