On the evening of June 10, Russian military forces launched an attack on Pavlohrad in the Dnipropetrovsk region of Ukraine, resulting in injuries to at least 12 individuals, according to local authorities. Alexander Ganjha, head of the regional military administration, reported that a multi-storey residential building was damaged, leading to a fire.
Among the injured is a 75-year-old woman, who is currently in serious condition at a local hospital. The remaining victims have received necessary medical treatment and will continue their recovery on an outpatient basis.
Ganjha noted that a 13-year-old boy is also among those affected by the strike. This incident is part of a broader pattern of attacks by Russian forces, which have been targeting Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure using various types of weaponry, including drones, missiles, and rocket systems.
Ukrainian officials and international organizations have classified these attacks as war crimes, asserting that they are deliberate in nature. The strikes on essential services and healthcare facilities are seen as efforts to deprive civilians of electricity, heating, water supply, communication, and medical assistance.
Legal experts and human rights advocates have raised concerns that these actions may constitute genocidal conduct, as defined by international law. They point to statements made by Russian officials that undermine the existence of the Ukrainian nation and calls for the destruction of its people.
The 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide outlines the obligations of its 149 signatory states to prevent and punish acts of genocide during both wartime and peacetime. The convention defines genocide as actions intended to destroy, in whole or in part, 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 calculated to bring about a group’s physical destruction, preventing births, and forcibly transferring children from one group to another.
Despite these allegations, Russian leadership denies that its military is intentionally targeting civilian infrastructure or causing harm to non-combatants, including hospitals, schools, and energy facilities.
A recent Russian attack on Pavlohrad has resulted in multiple injuries, including a child. Ukrainian authorities categorize these strikes as war crimes, linking them to broader allegations of genocidal actions against the Ukrainian population.