THE "RUSSIAN WORLD" PUSHES UKRAINE TO THE VERGE OF THE BIGGEST HUMANITARIAN DISASTER
The invasion of Russian troops into Ukraine is increasingly acquiring the features of an outright genocide of the Ukrainian people. The heroical resistance of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, territorial defense forces, and population hindered the invaders’ "blitzkrieg" plan. They never succeeded in capturing Kyiv within a day, and neither were they able to take over Kharkiv, Chernihiv, and other large cities.
Suffering significant losses in terms of hardware and manpower, the enemy is increasingly making attempts to exert force on civilians. Hypocritical statements about "strikes on military targets" in fact appear to be those of residential areas, maternity hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes. The cynical and ruthless shelling of residential neighborhoods in Kharkiv on February 28 speaks for itself.
Cities and towns of Ukraine are being shelled with ammunition proscribed by international conventions, including vacuum and cluster bombs. Multiple well-armed sabotage and reconnaissance groups are attacking the civilian population.
Having choked on the initial offensive leap, the enemy troops are now using a new tactic earlier used by the Nazis during World War 2. These include the blockade of cities and creating an artificial severe humanitarian crisis in the occupied territories. We see such attempts targeting Kherson, Chernihiv, and Sumy, where people are forced to hide in basements for days, with no water supplies, fleeing shelling. It’s mostly children, women, and the elderly who sit out the attacks there!
The blockade of large cities threatens to turn into a food blockade, since warehouses are often located outside city limits. By sowing chaos and manufacturing food shortages, combined with monstrous shelling, the occupying forces seek to break down the resistance of Ukrainian citizens and, accordingly, weaken the morale of the Ukrainian Army.
Ukraine found itself facing the largest humanitarian catastrophe since World War 2. Since the onset of Russian invasion on February 24, half a million refugees have fled the country. The UN predicts that in the next two weeks, the figure could reach 7 million. The disaster is unfolding rapidly and a 21st-century Holodomor of the terrifying scale may add up to the refugee issue!
The international community must take all possible steps to prevent a humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and bring the perpetrators of the genocide to the toughest possible accountability.