President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that over the past week, Russian forces launched massive attacks on Ukraine, using 1,770 drones, more than 1,530 guided aerial bombs (GAB), and 86 missiles, including over 20 ballistic ones. The head of state mentioned this in his address.
This is reported by Finway
Use of Western Components and Sanction Accountability
“Each of these missiles contains at least 60 foreign components supplied to Russia in violation of sanctions. The schemes for such supplies are known and must be eliminated. If the world lacks air defense means to cover the sky from ballistic threats in Europe and the Middle East simultaneously, we must take away the Russians’ ability to assemble missiles in their factories. I am grateful to everyone who continues the sanction efforts to protect lives,” emphasized the president.
Zelensky stressed that effective protection of the civilian population requires not only strengthening air defense but also a strict cessation of supplies to Russia of components used for missile production. According to him, the schemes for supplying foreign parts to Russia are well known, and the international community must eliminate them to prevent the aggressor from producing weapons.
Scale of Attacks and Signs of Genocidal Actions
The Russian army systematically shells Ukrainian cities with various types of weapons — strike drones, missiles, GABs, and multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS). The enemy strikes are aimed at civilian infrastructure across the country, hitting residential buildings, energy facilities, hospitals, schools, and other vital institutions.
The Ukrainian authorities and international organizations classify these massive shellings as war crimes by the Russian Federation. It is noted that the strikes are targeted and aimed at depriving the Ukrainian population of basic living conditions — electricity, heat, water, communication, and medical assistance. Such actions exhibit signs of genocide, as confirmed by statements from Russian representatives about the alleged non-existence of Ukrainians as a nation and calls for their destruction.
Experts emphasize that during the full-scale war, Russia is committing a wide range of crimes that can be classified as genocide, including:
- Declarations of intent to destroy Ukrainians, public calls for this;
- Systematic shelling of vital facilities to deprive people of necessary living conditions;
- Persecution and destruction of individuals with pro-Ukrainian positions in occupied territories;
- Extermination of Ukrainian intelligentsia, cultural figures, and educators;
- Implementation of educational programs in occupied regions aimed at changing children’s identities;
- Deportation of children to Russia to alter their national identity;
- Destruction of Ukrainian books, looting of museums, and theft of national artifacts.
The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948, defines genocide as actions aimed at the partial or total destruction of a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. To date, 149 countries that are parties to this Convention are obligated to prevent such actions and punish those guilty in both wartime and peacetime.
The leadership of Russia, despite numerous evidence, denies that their army is deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure, harming the peaceful population and destroying vital facilities across Ukraine.