One year of Russian terrorism in Ukraine: more than 9,600 civilians killed, including 461 children

@ElentirENG ES 2·24·2023 · 18:59 0

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is one year old and its balance is still terrible in terms of loss of human life and material damage.

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This invasion deserves to be classified as terrorism, since Russia is directing a large part of its efforts to attack the civilian population and destroy cultural property, in a strategy aimed at spreading terror among the Ukrainian people and eliminating their heritage and their hallmarks of national identity. To review the effects of this Russian terrorism, we are going to review both the deaths caused by the invasion and the material damage.

Russian crimes against the Ukrainian civilian population

This Wednesday, the General Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine has published the numbers of civilian victims of the Russian invasion, noting these data:

• 9,655 civilians killed.
• 461 children killed.
• 12.829 injured civilianss.
• 926 injured children.
• More than 700 civilians killed in the Bucha massacre.
• 739 civilians killed in the Kharkov region, where 21 Russian-installed torture chambers have been discovered and where more than 1,007 civilians have been abducted or have disappeared. In that region alone, more than 12,000 war crimes committed by the invaders have been registered.
• 1,232 people kidnapped or disappeared in the Kherson region, where 10 torture chambers installed by the Russians have been found. More than 11,000 war crimes committed by the invaders have been recorded in that region.
• More than 2,600 war crimes against children, including the death or injury of children, cases of armed attacks against children's institutions and facilities, and cases of forced deportation or kidnapping.
• More than 16,000 Ukrainian children forcibly displaced.

Likewise, the Ukrainian Prosecutor's Office published today that the invaders have committed 71,321 crimes of aggression and war crimes.

On Wednesday, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights published its most recent report (see PDF) on the civilian casualties caused by this invasion from February 24, 2022 to February 15, 2023. In total, the invasion ordered by Putin has already left the following numbers:

• 8,006 dead, including 487 children.
• Civilian deaths include 3,533 men, 2,096 women and 1,890 persons whose sex is unknown, as well as 256 boys, 200 girls and 31 minors whose sex is unknown.
• 13,287 injured, including 954 children.
• The injured among the civilian population include 3,460 men, 2,361 women and 6,512 persons whose sex is unknown, as well as 394 boys, 290 girls and 270 minors whose sex is unknown.
• The cited victims have occurred in 1,141 locations in Ukraine.
• The month with the most victims was March 2022, with 3,918 deaths and 2,967 injuries.
• Most of the dead (6,585) were killed by explosive weapons (including aerial bombs, rockets, artillery and cruise missiles), 1,202 were killed by small arms and 219 by land mines.
• In 2022, the death toll was 7,749. In 2021 there were 25 deaths due to the armed uprising of pro-Russian separatists in Donbass, supported by Russia. Let us remember that Russia described as "genocide" an armed conflict that it itself provoked and fueled. The accusation is loaded with cynicism if we take into account that the Russian invasion has multiplied by 309 the death toll of the previous year.

Material damage caused by the Russian invasion

Regarding material damage, the General Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine released these figures on Wednesday:

• 81,305 civil infrastructures damaged or destroyed.
• 62,229 residential buildings damaged or destroyed.
• 462 medical centers damaged or destroyed.
• 2,309 educational centers damaged or destroyed.
• 322 cultural buildings damaged or destroyed.
• 97 churches and religious buildings damaged or destroyed.
• 4,040 basic infrastructures (gas pipelines, aqueducts and electrical networks) damaged or destroyed.

Likewise, this Wednesday UNESCO has published a report pointing out the following material damage caused by the Russian invasion:

• 106 religious centers.
• 18 museums.
• 86 buildings of historical and artistic interest.
• 19 monuments.
• 12 librerías.

This war must not only end with the victory of Ukraine, if we really want to restore peace in Europe. In addition, for Justice, Russian war criminals must answer for their actions before the International Criminal Court.

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Photo: Serhii Nuzhnenko. The graves of the Izyum massacre perpetrated by the Russians.