On the night of March 12, the Russian Federation launched a massive attack on Ukraine, using 94 strike drones of various types. According to the Air Force Command, the drones were launched from the territories of Kursk, Oryol, Millerovo, and Primorsko-Akhtarsk regions of the Russian Federation, as well as from the Gvardeyskoye area in temporarily occupied Crimea. More than 60 of the drones were of the “Shahed” model.
This is reported by Finway
Details of the attack and air defense operations
Ukraine’s air defense destroyed or suppressed 77 enemy drones of the Shahed, Gerbera, Italmas, and other models in the north, south, and east of the country. Despite the effective work of the air defense, the Air Force Command recorded hits from 16 strike drones in 11 populated areas, as well as debris falling in another location.
“As of 09:00, the air defense has shot down/suppressed 77 enemy UAVs of the Shahed, Gerbera, Italmas types, and drones of other types in the north, south, and east of the country,” the statement said.
Objectives of the attacks and the qualification of Russia’s actions
Russian troops systematically shell Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure using various types of weapons, including kamikaze drones, missiles, aerial bombs, and multiple launch rocket systems. Such strikes affect vital facilities: energy networks, water supply systems, hospitals, educational institutions, and communication networks. Ukrainian authorities and international organizations consider these actions to be war crimes, which are targeted and may contain signs of genocidal actions.
According to human rights defenders and genocide researchers, Russia is declaring its intent to destroy the Ukrainian nation as an ethnic group, publicly calling for this, shelling critical infrastructure, deporting children, persecuting carriers of Ukrainian culture, and particularly actively influencing identity change in occupied territories. Manifestations also include the removal of Ukrainian books from libraries, the theft of historical artifacts, the destruction of the intelligentsia, and mass repressions against pro-Ukrainian citizens.
The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948, obliges 149 participating states to prevent such crimes and punish them in wartime and peacetime. Genocide is defined as actions aimed at the complete or partial destruction of a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group, including through killings, creating unbearable living conditions, forcibly transferring children, and other actions.
Despite numerous evidence and international investigations, the leadership of Russia officially denies its army’s involvement in targeted attacks on the civilian population of Ukraine, as well as the destruction of hospitals, schools, kindergartens, energy, and water supply facilities.