The Growing Civilian Casualties in Ukraine
Throughout Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, many civilians have been injured or even killed by the Russian military during its advance. Ukraine’s Defense Minister has even claimed that the Russian military has killed more Ukrainian civilians than Ukrainian soldiers. Along with this, the United Nations Human Rights Chief has said there is growing evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine, along with them ignoring international law. Russia has also been accused of using cluster bombs against Ukrainian civilians, an extremely dangerous type of weaponry that releases anywhere from a few dozen to hundreds of small bombs. So the question that is going through everyone’s mind is: Who is Russia targeting?
According to the United Nations’ Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights, as of April 25, over 2,600 citizens have been killed and over 3,000 have been injured. The report then goes on to state that they believe the casualties inflicted on civilians by the Russian military to be much higher, as reports from certain areas are delayed or even impossible to access. The military appears to be inflicting heavy casualties in large cities, hitting apartment blocks, hospitals, and other buildings that would regularly be full of civilians. Footage after apartment blocks in Odessa being hit by Russian missiles, causing extreme damage and killing eight and injuring more. As Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said, “The only aim of Russian missile strikes on Odessa is terror”, given that the invading Russian military had targeted not only a city with a large civilian population, but a block of apartments where civilians reside.
Similary to how the United States used cluster bombs in Iraq, Russia has been using them in Ukraine, only more frequently and on a bigger scale. A cluster bomb is a bomb that contains many small bombs inside, they open up in the air and release anywhere from a few dozen to hundreds of small bombs. Able to cripple militaries by hitting a large area, they are dangerous as they can affect anyone near the military and some bombs do not end up detonating. Many of the bombs malfunction, and by not detonating, they become landmines, endangering anyone who goes in the area after the bombs have been deployed. The issue is that Russia has been accused of not only using these munitions, but using them against civilians. They inflict heavy casualities in the cities where they are used, and the ineffective bombs simply sit on the road or pavement, waiting for something or someone to collide with them. Russia has claimed it is trying to target the Ukrainian military, but evidence shows that they have been hitting residential buildings with these bombs and others.
Along with cluster bombs, Russia has also used flechettes, arrow-shaped spikes, which is a somewhat similar weapon to cluster bombs. They release hundreds of small spikes, however they are not illegal, but it is illegal to use them on civilians. Which is exactly what they did, the dangers of this weapon is that the hundreds of flechettes shoot out in a spread, and when they impact with a body, the spike goes one way, while the fin breaks away and can cause another wound. While Russia is targeting the Ukrainian military, it is unclear why they are so sporadic when they enter major cities, as there is no reason to hit multiple apartments, hospitals, and libraries which regularly house civilians.