Attacks On Ukrainian Civilians Are Part of Russian Genocide

By Ariana Gic

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The argument that “since Putin cannot win on the battlefield, he is turning his attacks on civilians,” is WRONG. Wrong, wrong, wrong. There is NO point in the last FOUR YEARS where Russia has NOT been attacking civilians and infrastructure.

“Putin sees he cannot win, so he is trying to break Ukrainians by attacking them in their homes.” False. Russia’s massive military escalation of February 2022 was an attack on the CITY of KYIV. They bombed the THEATRE in Mariupol. They bombed farms and destroyed grain silos.

They slaughtered cattle. They MASSACRED civilians – including infants and children – in cities across the country starting in February 2022. They bombed libraries, schools, and hospitals. They destroyed archives, and burned books across Ukraine. In 2022.

Russia’s daily HUMAN SAFARI BY DRONES in Kherson has been ongoing AT LEAST since the summer of 2024. Russia has spent years attacking Ukrainian civilians walking, cycling, driving, farming, and everything else, with DRONES 300km from the front lines for years.

Russian failure to capture MORE Ukrainian territory shows Ukrainian military strength. It shows that properly supported, Ukraine CAN win on the battlefield. BUT – and there is a big one – Russian failure to capture a great deal MORE Ukrainian territory does not mean that Russia has lost, and that Ukraine has won. Russian occupation of Ukrainian territory is Russian victory. It should not be spun any other way. Russia occupies at least 22% of Ukraine.

Russia’s slow battlefield gains are evidence of Ukrainian strength and that the war is truly winnable. But it is NOT why Russia attacks ALL of Ukraine. The attacks on Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure are not a consequence of battlefield failure, but part of Russian state GENOCIDE POLICY.

The use of terror, the attacks on civilians and infrastructure; the attacks on Ukraine cultural and educational institutions; the erasure of Ukrainian culture, language, and education in occupied Ukraine, are all part of the SAME Russian genocide of Ukrainians.

Russia is not trying to freeze MILLIONS of Ukrainians to death for territorial conquest. Russian strikes on energy infrastructure did not commence this winter. It is genocide. Russia is committing GENOCIDE of Ukrainians, because this is Moscow’s CORE objective in Ukraine.

It is WRONG to pretend that what is in fact Russian genocide of Ukrainians is “war crimes” used because battlefield gains are slow. It is WRONG to label the attacks on civilians as acts of terror or war crimes. These are acts of GENOCIDE. The acts of genocide CAUSE terror.

People must stop sweeping the FACT of Russian genocide of Ukrainians under the rug. It is real. Every single legal test is met. The attacks on Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure aren’t because of Russian military weakness, but a part of coordinated and directed state policy of committing genocide against Ukrainians.

You cannot end genocide when you don’t acknowledge its existence. Russian genocide exists. We have a moral and legal duty to stop genocide. We have a moral and legal duty to stop Russia.

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About author

Ariana Gic, Canadian political and legal analyst, Director, Direct Initiative International Centre for Ukraine. Sanctioned by the Russian Federation according to the Statement of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the Personal Sanctions against the citizens of Canada, dated November 14, 2022
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