DISINFO: Russia never attacks civilian targets
SUMMARY
Russia does not strike at civilian targets. The strikes are carried out on critical infrastructure facilities, on military targets, one way or another related to the military potential of the regime in Ukraine. The comments of the Russian Defense Ministry, which rule out any attacks on civilian infrastructure targets in Ukraine, should be the main source of information on such issues.
RESPONSE
The claim is demonstrably false. Russia has targeted hundreds, if not thousands, of civilian targets in several wars, including Chechnya, Syria and Ukraine.
The Russian Armed Forces indiscriminately bombed cities in Chechnya in the 1990s, including whole areas of the capital Grozny, leading Doctor Without Borders to denounce that “there is no region where civilians can shelter from Russian attack” and that “certain practices by the Russian military manifestly contravene [humanitarian] laws and could be qualified as war crimes or crimes against humanity”.
In Syria, Russia’s air force systematically bombed hospitals and medical facilities in rebel areas as a war strategy.
Since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russia has attacked civilian targets multiple times, including the city theater in Mariupol, residential buildings, schools and energy facilities. 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.
Denying war crimes and atrocities and trying to deflect any responsibility is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation technique. See other examples of similar disinformation messages in our database, such as claims that Russia wages war humanely and does not hit civilians, that Russia only attacks military facilities in Ukraine, that ICC falsely claims Russia strikes civilian targets in Ukraine, or that unlike Israel, Russia has respected international law in its military operation.