On Saturday, June 13, Russian military forces conducted an airstrike on the center of Sloviansk, according to Vadym Lyakh, head of the city’s military administration. The attack involved the use of three guided bombs, resulting in damage to 23 residential buildings, an educational institution, and a vehicle.
Reports indicate that three women sustained injuries in the strike, and medical assistance is being provided to them. Sloviansk is situated approximately 14 kilometers from the front lines of the conflict.
In late May, analysts from the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) noted that Russian troops have been attempting to advance towards Sloviansk by employing small infantry infiltration tactics. The ISW also highlighted that Russian forces have been targeting supply routes connecting Sloviansk to the Kharkiv region, as well as civilian infrastructure within the city using drones and guided bombs.
Currently, around 45,000 civilians remain in Sloviansk. The Russian military has been conducting regular attacks on Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure across various regions using a range of weapons, including strike drones and missiles.
Ukrainian authorities and international organizations have classified these attacks as war crimes, emphasizing their targeted nature. They argue that the strikes on essential services and healthcare facilities aim to deprive civilians of electricity, heating, water supply, communication, and medical assistance, which could be indicative of genocidal actions.
Legal experts and human rights advocates assert that the broad range of offenses committed by Russia during the ongoing conflict could fall under the definition of genocide. These include declarations of intent to destroy Ukrainians as an ethnic group, public calls for their extermination, and systematic attacks on the infrastructure necessary for civilian life.
The 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide obligates its 149 member states to prevent and punish acts of genocide both during wartime and in peacetime. The convention defines genocide as actions aimed at the complete or partial destruction of a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.
Indicators of genocide include the killing of group members, causing serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the group’s destruction, and the forcible transfer of children from one group to another.
The Russian leadership has consistently denied that its military is intentionally targeting civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, despite evidence of attacks on hospitals, schools, and essential services.
A recent airstrike by Russian forces in Sloviansk has resulted in significant damage and injuries, raising concerns about the targeting of civilian infrastructure. Ukrainian authorities and international bodies are categorizing these actions as potential war crimes and genocidal acts.