The number of casualties in Dnipro has increased to 13 following a Russian strike on the night of March 24, as reported by Oleksandr Hanzha, head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration. Among the injured are three children, with one nine-year-old receiving outpatient treatment.
Initially, reports indicated eight individuals had been wounded. The attack resulted in damage to eight apartment buildings and two kindergartens in the city. Local authorities have confirmed that the Russian military frequently targets Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure using various types of weaponry, including drones and missiles.
Ukrainian officials and international organizations classify these strikes as war crimes, emphasizing their deliberate nature. Attacks on essential services and healthcare facilities aim to deprive civilians of electricity, heat, water, communication, and medical assistance, which some legal experts and human rights advocates argue may constitute genocidal actions.
During the ongoing conflict, Russian forces are accused of committing a range of offenses that could fall under the definition of genocide. These include public declarations aimed at the destruction of the Ukrainian people, targeted attacks on vital infrastructure, and the persecution of pro-Ukrainian individuals in occupied territories.
Furthermore, there are reports of the systematic erasure of Ukrainian culture through the targeting of educators and artists, the imposition of curricula designed to alter children’s identities in occupied areas, and the deportation of children to Russia for identity reformation.
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 in wartime and 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 killing members of a group, causing serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions calculated to bring about a group’s destruction, and publicly inciting such actions. The Russian leadership denies that its military is intentionally targeting civilian infrastructure or causing civilian casualties during the ongoing conflict.
The recent Russian attack in Dnipro has left 13 injured, including children, while causing significant damage to local infrastructure. Authorities and international bodies continue to classify such attacks as war crimes, raising concerns about potential genocidal actions amidst the ongoing conflict.