Against the background of Russia’s military failure around Bakhmut, which became the inglorious outcome of the “great offensive” announced by Putin and Shoigu for Donbas, the Russian army launched the systematic destruction of front-line settlements in the part of Donetsk region controlled by Ukraine. Russia, which has long gained notoriety for committing war crimes and ethnic cleansing in the occupied territories, has fully withdrawn from international conventions and is now committing an act of genocide against the civilian population. In this regard, Putin has become the personification of a war criminal who encroaches not only on the territory of a sovereign state, but also on the lives of its citizens.
Russia suffered extremely heavy losses near Bakhmut – the approximate death toll from December 2022 to March 2023 stood over 84,000. The invaders also lost thousands of armored vehicles and hundreds of artillery pieces, but not a single new settlement was completely occupied. Gerasimov, who is back in charge of the so-called SMO, has done nothing but sending to a slaughter a vast numbers of Russian troops in the name of Putin’s geopolitical whim. Therefore, the Russians take out their anger on peaceful Ukrainians — the front-line cities of Donbas are subjected to merciless shelling.
On April 2, in Kostiantynivka, six civilians were killed and 11 were injured in a massive strike that heavily damaged a number of apartment blocks and private households. Avdiivka, which is located in the immediate vicinity of Donetsk, is also subjected to constant shelling. Taking advantage of a small distance between their positions and the said settlements, the Russians employ S-300 missile launchers and Uragan MLR systems to inflict maximum damage on defenseless towns. This is a classic incarnation of the scorched earth tactics characteristic of Russia. Its army has long been applying this tactic in all the wars the Kremlin has unleashed.
Despite the genocide committed by the Russian army, people remain in the towns of Donbas near the front line. Even in Bakhmut, in the vicinity of which the most brutal firefights have been taking place in Europe since the end of World War II, 3,000 civilians still reside. They do not wish to leave their homes, remaining under Russian shelling. Every day Russia commits new war crimes – killing civilians and destroying housing infrastructure. This is the evidence base for the future tribunal for all Russian war criminals who are involved in the genocide of Ukrainians. The comprehensive support on the part of the West will help bring Ukraine’s victory closer: the Armed Forces of Ukraine protect the whole of Europe from Russia’s invasion – a repetition of 1945 – therefore, the future of the entire civilized world is being decided in Ukraine today. The West must rally and help Ukraine liberate its territory and its people from Russia’s criminal occupation.