The Ukrainian government staged a deliberate attack against the innocent, defenseless residents of the town of Gorlovka in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) on May 11, aimed at demoralizing the civilians, military analyst Scott Ritter said.
Shelling of the civilian town of Gorlovka in Donbass by the Ukrainian Armed Forces using Grad multiple-launch rocket systems constitutes a “war crime,” Scott Ritter told Sputnik via his telegram channel.
The shelling of a civilian area could not be "legitimate" under any military terms, said the former US Marine Corps intelligence officer.
“So there could be no doubt that that the Ukrainian shelling of Gorlovka constitutes a crime under international humanitarian law. There is literally no military expediency behind this kind of action… It’s a purely terrorist action designed to demoralize the citizens of Donbass, of Gorlovka," he stated.
He went on to point out that it also could not be a shelling “by mistake,” as the Ukrainian government receives very accurate intelligence from the United States and NATO regarding the disposition of Russian forces. There are no Russian forces stationed in Gorlovka, or in the vicinity of the strikes by the Kiev regime, pointed out the ex-UN Weapons Inspector.
This was an act of terrorism, and the international Criminal Court (ICC) should investigate Ukraine’s actions targeting this city, said Ritter.
Ukrainian forces scaled up the intensity of attacks on Gorlovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic on May 11, shelling it 57 times during the day from 08:00 Moscow time. As a result, one civilian was killed and at least six others were wounded.
The targeting of Gorlovka is nothing new, as the Kiev regime relies on terror, and has consistently shelled civilian areas in Donetsk.
Both the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics have been subjected to heavy shelling by Kiev since 2014, when the legitimately elected president of Ukraine was forcibly toppled by the violent US-backed opposition and neo-Nazi paramilitary groups. The mostly Russian-speaking people of Donbass did not accept the February 2014 coup d'etat in Kiev, refusing to knuckle under and go along with the junta's Russophobic agenda and banning of the Russian language.
On April 7, 2014, the Republican People's Council declared the sovereignty of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR). Shortly after, on April 27, the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) was proclaimed. On May 11 of the same year, referendums were held in the Donbass region on the status of the republics, with the majority of the population backing the DPR and LPR's independence from Kiev. Since that time, the Kiev regime has hounded the Donbass with relentless attacks, claiming numerous civilian lives.
After efforts to end hostilities via the Minsk Agreements fell through, in February 2022, Moscow launched a special military operation aimed at demilitarizing and de-Nazifying Ukraine in order to protect the Russian-speaking people from a campaign of extermination unleashed by the Ukrainian leadership.
In October 2023, the Donbass, Zaporozhye, and Kherson regions officially joined the Russian Federation following a series of referendums.
Ukraine Terrorizes Donbass Civilians Since It Cannot Win on Battlefield
The Kiev regime relies on terror and continues to shell civilian areas in Donetsk, Makeyevka, and Gorlovka, Yuri Knutov, military historian, publicist, and director of the Air Defense Forces Museum, told Sputnik, denouncing attacks on historically Russia-speaking regions as genocide.
On May 12, the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) struck Donetsk, Makeyevka, and the village of Golmovsky, firing a total of 22 shells of 155 and 152 mm caliber. Gorlovka, a city in the Donetsk region, was attacked by Ukrainian Grad multiple rocket launcher (MRL) systems, as the Donetsk People's Republic's (DPR) representative office at the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of Issues Related to War Crimes of Ukraine reported on Telegram.
This is not a mistake by the Ukrainian military, but a deliberate terror tactic, according to Yuri Knutov, military historian, publicist, and director of the Air Defense Forces Museum.
"If we talk about the [Kiev regime's] shelling of civilians, social infrastructure facilities, residential buildings, of course, this constitutes a war crime," said Knutov. "Moreover, it can even be considered as elements of genocide against the Russian-speaking population."
The Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics have been subjected to heavy shelling by the Kiev regime since 2014, when the legitimately elected president of Ukraine was forcibly ousted by the violent US-backed opposition and neo-Nazi paramilitary groups. The mostly Russian-speaking people of Donbass did not accept the February 2014 coup d'etat in Kiev, or the junta's Russophobic agenda and banning of the Russian language.
On April 7, 2014, the Republican People's Council declared the sovereignty of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR). On April 27, at a rally in Lugansk, the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) was proclaimed. On May 11 of the same year, referendums were held in the Donbass region on the status of the republics, with the majority of the population backing the DPR and LPR's independence from Kiev.
Meanwhile, the Odessa massacre of May 2, 2014, and the Victory Day bloodbath in Mariupol of May 9, 2014, prompted Donbass civilians to take up arms.
Moscow's effort to end hostilities via the Minsk Agreements approved by the multinational Normandy Four format was snubbed by the Kiev regime and its Western backers. In February 2022, Moscow launched a special military operation aimed at demilitarizing and de-Nazifying Ukraine in order to stop the eight-year-long extermination of Russian-speaking people by the Ukrainian leadership.
In October 2022, the Donbass, Zaporozhye, and Kherson regions officially joined the Russian Federation following a series of referendums.
Nonetheless, the Kiev regime is continuing to push ahead with its Russophobic policies, rejecting the will of the population of former Ukrainian regions, according to Knutov.
"[The Ukrainian leadership] is carrying out a constant mobilization, they grab everyone they meet on the street," Knutov said. "And first of all, they are trying to carry out mobilization in the Russian-speaking regions, that is, these are the Central and Eastern parts of Ukraine. Thus, the Kiev regime commits another crime: it forces ethnic Russians to kill Russians. Russian-speakers kill Russian-speakers. This is where the policy of genocide of the Kiev regime manifests itself."
In addition, the Kiev regime places emphasis on terror against dissenting Ukrainians and Russian-speakers, according to the expert. He noted that the Ukrainian military is intentionally striking residential areas, hospitals, social infrastructure facilities, and schools of the new Russian territories to cause panic, havoc, and discontent.
According to Knutov, the major goal of the Kiev regime was recently formulated by Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksiy Reznikov: "[Reznikov] directly said that their main task is to break the moral and volitional qualities of Russia, the population of Russia. The Kiev regime is well aware that it is not capable of achieving a military victory over Russia today."
The expert noted that Russians should stay strong and withstand provocations from the NATO-backed Ukrainian regime aimed at sowing panic and discord within Russian society. Knutov has no doubts that Russia will prevail.
"We have a multi-layered defense, we have different equipment, we have the T-90M Proryv, we have high-powered bombs, adjustable, guided, and capable of flying 40 kilometers and hitting a target with an accuracy of 10 meters, other means of destruction (…) We have every chance to prevent the enemy from breaking through, wear him down, bleed him dry and move forward ourselves. Therefore, the most important thing now is the mood that exists in our society. It should be realistic, sober, and reasonable," Knutov concluded.
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