DISINFO: In response to Ukrainian attack, Russia struck exclusively military facilities in Ukraine
SUMMARY
In response to the massive attacks carried out by Ukraine between May 20 and 27, during which 2,331 Ukrainian drones were intercepted, including 1,465 against non-military targets, Russia carried out retaliatory strikes exclusively against Ukrainian military installations with high precision weapons.
Russia would continue to launch retaliatory strikes on Ukrainian military facilities in response to terrorist attacks and provocations by the Kyiv regime to disrupt peace negotiations.
RESPONSE
Recurrent pro-Kremlin narrative portraying Ukraine as a terrorist state attacking civilians to undermine peace negotiations and Russia as taking action on military targets in retaliation. This claim was made in the context of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Russian attacks against non-combatants and civilian infrastructure have been a constant throughout the invasion, despite non-credible denials by Russian officials and pro-Kremlin disinformation. Since 2022, Russia has attacked civilian targets multiple times, including the city theatre in Mariupol, residential buildings, schools and energy facilities. Strikes by drones and missiles occur almost every night, even though at the end of May 2025 their amplitude increased. The Institute for the Study of War made a graphical representation of their size since 1st January.
Calling Russian strikes high precision and exclusively on military targets is a also a way to legitimize the attacks. Most weapons are not high precision, the KN23 missile for instance has a low precision, that has been improved by Russian engineers, remains below the standards of other missiles like the Kh-101. Moreover, the targets were largely civilian. On 24 May, 30 civilians were injured, including 15 in the capital Kyiv. On Sunday, 25 May 2025 strikes damaged mostly residential buildings and civilian infrastructure, killing at least 12 people and injuring 79. On 26 May missile and drone strikes caused 6 killed, and 24 injured and destroyed houses, shops, civilian vehicles, and infrastructure.
On 05 March 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants against two Russian top officials considered responsible for “missile strikes carried out by the forces under their command against the Ukrainian electric infrastructure" between October 2022 and March 2023, which are considered as war crimes.
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