In Derhachi, Kharkiv region, five civilians were injured as a result of shelling carried out by the Russian Federation’s forces. Two of them are in serious condition. This was reported by the head of the city military administration, Vyacheslav Zadorenko.
This is reported by Finway
Details of the Attack and the Situation in the Region
According to Zadorenko, a Russian drone was spotted over the city before the attack, and residents were warned in advance. The circumstances of the incident and the condition of the injured are being clarified. The Russian army continues to systematically use various types of weapons, including strike drones, missiles, aerial bombs, and multiple launch rocket systems, targeting cities in Ukraine and critical infrastructure facilities.
“According to preliminary information, five civilians were injured, two of them are in serious condition,” said the head of the military administration.
Assessment of the Actions of the Russian Federation and International Law
Ukrainian officials and international organizations classify such attacks as war crimes, emphasizing their deliberate nature. Shelling of the population’s life-support systems, medical facilities, as well as depriving people of access to electricity, heat, water, communication, and medical assistance are considered signs of genocidal actions. Experts in international law and genocide researchers emphasize that Russia is committing crimes that may fall under the definition of genocide. Such actions include:
- public statements of intent to destroy Ukrainians as a nation,
- targeted shelling of infrastructure,
- persecution and destruction of citizens with pro-Ukrainian positions in occupied territories,
- destruction of the Ukrainian intelligentsia,
- implementation of educational programs to change children’s identities,
- deportation of children to Russia,
- destruction of Ukrainian books and theft of cultural values.
The UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, adopted in 1948, obliges 149 participating states to prevent and punish acts of genocide in both wartime and peacetime. The document defines genocide as actions aimed at the complete or partial destruction of a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. Signs of genocide include the intentional killing of members of the group, causing them serious bodily harm, creating conditions intended for physical destruction, preventing childbirth, and forcibly transferring children to another group, as well as publicly inciting such actions.
At the same time, the leadership of Russia denies its army’s involvement in targeted attacks on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and denies the facts of civilian casualties, destruction of medical institutions, educational facilities, and energy and water supply facilities.