John Bolton says Putin has his own logic and it is different from ours
Vladimir Putin cynically targets Ukraine with repeated attacks on the country’s critical infrastructure, specifically aimed at spreading terror and making the lives of millions of civilians “unsustainable”, campaigners claim. One Russian politician even harshly declared that Ukrainian citizens should “rot and freeze” this winter, Human Rights Watch (HRW) stressed.
That of the organization new report warns that multiple missile and drone strikes in October and November have deprived millions of citizens of at least temporary access to electricity, water, heat and related vital services in anticipation of bitterly cold weather conditions in which temperatures are likely to drop to -27F.
Attacks killed at least 77 civilians and wounded 272, with more than 30 killed or injured in the November 23 airstrikes.
In addition, millions of people were left without power, with the entire population of Kiev – some three million people – not having access to water that day, and parts of the capital, along with the regions of Lviv, Zaporizhzhia and Odessa, also completely disconnected from electricity .
Yulia Gorbunova, senior Ukraine researcher at Human Rights Watch, said: “By repeatedly targeting critical energy infrastructure, knowing that this will deprive citizens of access to water, heat and health services, Russia appears to be trying to sow terror among civilians. and make life unsustainable. for them.
“With the coldest winter temperatures yet to come, conditions will become more life-threatening, while Russia appears intent on making life unsustainable for as many Ukrainian citizens as possible.”
Ukraine: Doctors operate using flares during power outages in Ukraine (Image: GETTY)
The aftermath of the November 23 attack in Kiev (Image: Yulia Gorbunova/Human Rights Watch)
Russia’s behavior likely constitutes a violation of the laws of war, which prohibit attacks on objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population and violence or threats “the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population”.
Meanwhile, elected politicians are venturing into the flames with belligerent rhetoric, with Boris Chernyshov, a member of the country’s State Duma or parliament, declaring last week during an appearance on state-controlled television: “They should freeze and rot there . They will be without gas, without light, without everything.”
To compile its investigation, HRW used public records, police and fire reports and official statements, and spoke with a power company official, two energy experts, local authorities, rescue workers and civilians in Kiev, Lviv, Kharkiv. , Odessa, Kherson and Mykolaiv.
Activists also visited the scene of at least one of the attacks that caused serious damage to civilian homes and killed civilians last month.
On Nov. 16, Ukraine’s attorney general’s office said Russia had launched 92 attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in October and November.
Boris Chernyshov said Ukrainians should “freeze and rot” (Image: NC)
People wait for a taxi in the center of Kiev on November 24 (Image: GETTY)
DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, has suffered 13 attacks in the course of a month and a half with significant damage.
The company also told HRW that Russian attacks on power infrastructure alone on Oct. 10 damaged more than 40 percent of Ukraine’s power system.
Air raids in October and November also killed three DTEK employees and injured another 22.
Olexander Kharchenko, director of the independent research and consultancy firm Energy Industry Research Center, told HRW that as a result, the blackout occurred in 10,700,000 households across Ukraine, affecting about half of the country’s population.
In addition, Mr. Kharchenko said Ukraine’s total power generation capacity was reduced by 50 percent as a result of the November 15 attacks.
Russian troops enter and loot the Ukrainian house
In the week that followed, authorities had only been able to repair 10 to 20 percent of what was damaged, he explained.
Mr Kharchenko said it is difficult to estimate the total damage to any given infrastructure facility because they are linked, but warned that further attacks, if they happen in rapid succession, could lead to an uncontrolled blackout and It can take 3 to 10 days to restore the infrastructure. system.
He added: “The whole of Ukraine would be without electricity, water and heating during that period.”
Electricity infrastructure is considered dual-use – military and civilian – and can be legitimately targeted for attack in an armed conflict.
Nevertheless, such attacks are subject to the laws of war, which prohibit indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (Image: Getty)
Case Study:
Human Rights Watch spoke to a Kyiv resident who cares for her parents full-time, who described how prolonged power outages affected her 75-year-old mother, who has stage 4 lung cancer and is dependent on oxygen.
She said: “We have a stationary oxygen concentrator at home that becomes useless if there is no power.
“Without it, her oxygen level drops to 70 percent within minutes. If there is no electricity for more than two hours, we are stuck and all I can do is watch my mother struggle to breathe.”
A sustained blood oxygen level of 70 percent can lead to organ damage and death.
The woman’s family has raised money for a car battery that can power the concentrator for two hours.
However, she said it was insufficient because power cuts can last for hours.
A Ukrainian charity recently gave her mother a portable concentrator that can be charged for up to six hours, but as she said, such concentrators are very limited in Ukraine.
The woman added: “I understand someone else who is oxygen dependent may need it urgently soon. Maybe a child with cystic fibrosis or another cancer patient. And what are we going to do then?”