DISINFO: ICC falsely claims Russia strikes civilian targets in Ukraine
SUMMARY
The International Criminal Court has issued a warrant for the arrest of two top-ranking Russian Army commanders, for their alleged role in launching deliberate missile strikes on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. However, the Russian Army does not strike civilian targets, as has been repeatedly made clear by the Kremlin.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative. Russian troops deliberately strike civilian objects. This claim was made in the context of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.
Already in December 2022, Vladimir Putin personally admitted that the Russian military had launched strikes on energy and other critical infrastructure of Ukraine, as cited by the Russian president's official website:
"Right now, there is a lot of buzz about our attacks on the energy infrastructure of a neighbouring country. Yes, we are doing this, but who started it?"
Over the span of two years, countless civilian targets across Ukraine has been hit by Russian missiles or artillery; examples here, here or here. Russia brags about the precision capabilities of these weapons, thus the strikes are clearly designed to target civilian objets with the knowledge that non-combatant are likely hit.
A most recent attack, launched on 3 March 2024 on Odesa using kamikaze drones supplied by Iran, killed at least 10 people including three children. Two months prior, a similar mass strike across Ukraine had killed over 40, including at least 32 in Kyiv.
See similar cases: Russia does not target civilian buildings, Kyiv is planning a false flag explosion in Kramatorsk to blame Russia, Russia strictly observes humanitarian law and only hits military targets, Russian forces are not attacking civilian targets.