How russia ‘demilitarizes’ Ukrainian houses, hospitals and cultural heritage
For the 9th day, Ukraine has been resisting the russian army in its attempts to occupy the independent country. The war claimed by the aggressor as a ‘military operation’ aimed to ‘denazionalize and demilitarize’ Ukraine seems to last longer than any of the kremlin’s officials expected. Russian propagandist media explains that taking Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, is being delayed because of the carefulness of the russian troops who are trying to do no harm to the civilians. But there already is tons of proof that safety of the peaceful Ukrainians is one of the last priorities for the russian army.
Shellings started on February 24th with attacks on military bases and airfields, damaging nearby cities. In Uman (Cherkasy region), a Hasidic sacred spot and destination of major pilgrimage every Rosh Hasana, a russian shell landed in the central part of the city, killing a man. Meanwhile, in Chuhuiv (Kharkiv region) State Emergency Services reported a fire in an apartment building caused by russian shellings, which killed a young boy. Shortly, russian attacks spread to more civil buildings. On the night of February 25th, russian rocket fragment hit an apartment building in Kyiv with at least 3 people wounded.
In the next days, more and more Ukrainian cities got bombed by the russian army. For the 5th day in a row, Kharkiv is under constant heavy attack, people barely have any opportunity to leave their shelters because of massive shellings. Explosions are heard in residential blocks in different parts of the city. A cruise missile ruined the building of the Kharkiv Region Administration, others also hit or ruined The City Council, the Opera House, the Philharmonic Hall, several houses and even a school and the Cathedral. The central square of the city — Square of Freedom — is destroyed by shellings. In just one day of attacks, 21 civilians died and 112 were wounded in the city. Different cities and villages around Kharkiv are also experiencing severe air attacks.
Another city that is constantly bombed by russia is Chernihiv, 66 km away from the belarusian border. Lots of cities and villages around it have already been attacked or even temporarily occupied by the russian army trying to lay siege to the city. On the first day of attacks, February 26th, State Emergency Services (SES) liquidated at least 30 accidents caused by shellings. The occupiers aim at civil buildings, hospitals and kindergartens, the press-centre of SES says. In the last few days, russia has already ruined the historical building of the local Youth Centre (ex-movie theater) with ashort-range ballistic missile Iskander. It also destroyed a constructionist hypermarket, parts of a hospital and several houses. A rocket aimed at the City Council hit the yard of a nearby residential block. Explosions are still heard here, as well as in Kharkiv, at the time of writing.
Russian artillery is also hitting the city of Mariupol, Donetsk region. Terrorists from the self-proclaimed ‘Donetsk People’s Republic’, financed and supported by russia, had already bombed this city with rockets, killing 25 adults and 2 children in 2015. Now history repeats itself, russian rockets aim at residential blocks, ruining several houses, a school, a maternity hospital and a municipal building. Russian troops are trying to take the city, but Ukrainian defenders keep fighting. The City Council reports on at least 42 wounded civilians, parts of the city are left without power or water supply. Nearby villages are also bombed — for instance, in the Sartana village inhabited mostly by ethnic Greeks several shellings killed at least 4 people.
Kherson, a port city in the South of Ukraine, is also constantly under attack. Russian troops are trying to occupy the city as they did with some of the nearing towns. They already took up the local TV-tower and broadcast russian TV-channels, but the city is still under Ukrainian flag and it`s not going to give up. Shellings and shootings have damaged or destroyed several private and multi-apartment houses. Locals also report on fires in one of the shopping centers. Due to the constant attacks and russian troops inside of the city, the local SES reports that it is sometimes impossible to provide necessary help. Russia also damaged city communications, cutting some districts of the city from water, gas and electricity supply.
In addition to the cities that are constantly under fire, there are lots of them that experience solitary bombings. Air attack alarms are heard in almost every regional center of Ukraine. On March 1st alone, russian missiles have damaged or destroyed: a maternity hospital in Zhytomyr; a cemetery in Bila Tserkva; a bridge in Vasylivka, cutting off the southern part of the Zaporizhia region. Russia also targeted a TV tower in Kyiv, but hit the memorial site of Babyn Yar — a site of a massive massacre, where tens of thousands of Jews were brutally murdered by German Nazis in 1941. ‘80 years later, the russian Nazis hit the same point to kill Ukrainians’, – commented Ukrainian Minister of External Affairs Dmytro Kuleba. This attack killed 5 people and wounded 5 more.
Russian ‘demilitarization’ hurts not only civilians, but innocent animals, too. In the Kyiv region alone there are at least 3 dog shelters left without help. Cities and villages around the capital of Ukraine are under heavy bombings since the first day of the full-scale attack. There are also russian troops seen there trying to reach and take up Kyiv. Ukrainian defenders resist the occupants. But shelter employees in Borodyanka report that it is mostly impossible to reach the shelter for the 6th day in a row due to the constant shellings and street fights. Shelters in Hostomel and Fedorivka — the last one called ‘Sirius’ takes care of more than 3000 dogs — are also understuffed and unable to provide necessary help to the animals. Volunteers and employees can`t reach them either, leaving all of the dogs in the hands of only a few people who can manage to get there.
In the fake reality created by russian pro-putin media, there are no civilians hurt by the russian army. Meanwhile, on March 2nd, the Ukrainian SES reports on more than 2000 peaceful Ukrainians killed in shellings and other russia-caused tragedies since the beginning of the full-scale war. Unconscionable murders, ruining of residental blocks, attacks on hospitals and sacred places can mean ‘denazification and demilitarization’ only in the most twisted minds. Two thousands killed civilians in a single week look more like what an actual Nazi would do.
