As a result of a Russian artillery shelling of the Znob-Novgorod community in the Sumy region, a 20-year-old woman was killed, and her six-year-old sister was injured. This was reported by the head of the Sumy Regional Military Administration, Oleg Grygorov, who noted that the child’s condition is currently being clarified, and law enforcement agencies are investigating the circumstances of the incident.
This is reported by Finway
“The child’s condition is being clarified. All circumstances are being established.”
Details of the Shelling and Government Response
According to the regional prosecutor’s office, Russian troops attacked a residential building of peaceful residents in the Znob-Novgorod community of the Shostka district using artillery. Prosecutors are working at the scene along with other law enforcement agencies to document the consequences of yet another crime.
Systematic Strikes on Civilian Infrastructure
Russian military forces have repeatedly used various types of weaponry—strike drones, missiles, guided bombs, and multiple launch rocket systems—to attack Ukrainian cities and infrastructure across the country. Ukrainian authorities and international organizations consider these attacks as war crimes committed by the Russian Federation, emphasizing their targeted nature.
Shelling of vital infrastructure, including energy supply, heating, water supply, communication systems, as well as medical facilities, deprives the population of basic living conditions and exhibits signs of genocidal actions. Experts and human rights defenders emphasize that during the full-scale war, the Russian Federation is committing acts against Ukrainian citizens that may meet the definition of genocide. Among these are public calls for the destruction of Ukrainians, persecution and extermination of pro-Ukrainian individuals in occupied territories, destruction of the Ukrainian intelligentsia, deportation of children, and targeted destruction of cultural heritage.
The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide back in 1948. According to this international document, participating states are obligated to prevent acts of genocide and punish them both in wartime and peacetime. Genocide is recognized as actions aimed at the total or partial destruction of a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group, including killings, causing serious bodily harm, creating living conditions incompatible with survival, the forcible transfer of children, and other crimes.
Despite numerous evidences, the leadership of Russia continues to deny the fact of targeted strikes on civilian infrastructure, the killing of peaceful residents, and the destruction of hospitals, schools, energy facilities, and water supply systems during the war waged against Ukraine.