Kiev ramping up attacks on Russian civilians – senior diplomat
Ukraine has stepped up its attacks on Russian civilians in frontline and border regions, resulting in over 150 casualties in the past week alone, Rodion Miroshnik, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s ambassador-at-large tasked with tracking Kiev’s war crimes, has said. This comes amid ongoing Russia-US efforts to settle the Ukraine conflict.
In a statement posted on Telegram on Tuesday, Miroshnik accused Kiev of attacking civilian targets “in the midst of talks about the desire for a peaceful settlement.” He stated that from March 17 to 23, 16 civilians were killed and 134 were injured in Ukrainian attacks.
The bulk of the casualties were recorded in the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, and the regions of Belgorod, Kursk, and Kherson, he added, claiming that over the week, Ukraine fired almost 2,000 munitions of various kinds at civilian targets.
He also provided examples of the most devastating attacks, including a strike in the village of Gorlovka in Donbass which injured 12 civilians. According to Miroshnik, the strike used cluster munitions, which are banned in more than 100 countries. Ukraine is not a signatory to the treaty that bars their use.
Another reported incident was a drone attack in the village of Chubarevka in Russia’s Zaporozhye Region, which killed a paramedic, he added. While most of the attacks targeted border and frontline regions, one UAV strike hit targets in Russia’s Saratov Region – hundreds of kilometers from the battlefield – and injured ten civilians, Miroshnik said.
Russia has accused Ukraine of targeting civilians throughout the conflict, especially in regions near the border. Miroshnik’s comments come as Russia and the US are engaging in diplomacy to explore options for settling the conflict.
As part of the process, Moscow agreed to a 30-day ceasefire on strikes targeting energy infrastructure after a phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, last week. Russian officials, however, have said Ukraine violated the agreement almost immediately by targeting oil infrastructure in several locations.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov signaled that Russia plans to abide by the moratorium despite Kiev’s violations. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has warned, however, that Moscow reserves the right to respond to Ukraine’s attacks, including “symmetrically,” if Kiev continues its “destructive course.”
