The death toll from a Russian missile strike in Kryvyi Rih on June 23 has increased to three, according to Oleksandr Hanža, head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration. Initially, one fatality was reported.
Hanža stated that two men, aged 30 and 39, are in serious condition in the hospital, while a 62-year-old woman is in critical condition. The number of injured has also risen to 23.
Emergency services responded to the attack, extinguishing several fires caused by the strike. Hanža noted that a derelict building, an excavator, and a vehicle were damaged in the incident.
Russian military forces have been consistently targeting Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure using various types of weaponry, including drones, missiles, and multiple launch rocket systems. These actions have been classified as war crimes by Ukrainian authorities and international organizations, emphasizing their deliberate nature.
The attacks on essential services and healthcare facilities appear aimed at depriving civilians of electricity, heating, water supply, communication, and medical assistance, which some legal experts argue could constitute genocidal acts. During the ongoing conflict, accusations have emerged regarding a range of crimes against the Ukrainian populace, including threats to the existence of Ukrainians as an ethnic group.
Legal definitions of genocide, established by the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, encompass actions intended to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. The Convention obligates its 149 member states to prevent and punish acts of genocide in both wartime and peacetime.
Signs of genocide may include the killing or causing serious bodily harm to members of a group, deliberately creating conditions aimed at its destruction, preventing births, and forcibly transferring children from one group to another. Public incitement to commit such acts is also included in the definition.
Russian leadership has denied allegations that its military conducts targeted strikes against civilian infrastructure, asserting that it does not intentionally harm the civilian population or destroy hospitals, schools, and essential services.
The recent missile strike in Kryvyi Rih has resulted in three fatalities and numerous injuries, prompting discussions on the nature of the attacks as potential war crimes. Ukrainian officials continue to assert that these actions target civilian infrastructure, raising serious concerns about human rights violations.