The most resonant crimes of the Kyiv regime (Ambassador-at-Large on the Kiev Regime's War Crimes), May 2024

Comment

The number of civilians killed and wounded in the Ukrainian forces’ criminal attacks on the frontline Russian regions in May increased by over 50% compared to April. About 600 civilians have fallen victim to these criminal acts, out of which 98 people were killed, including five children, and 488, including 27 children, received wounds of various gravity.

Despite numerous statements about the Ukrainian forces’ “shell hunger,” the number of Ukrainian attacks on civilian facilities has increased by over 50%. In May 2024, Ukrainians launched over 8,000 munitions at houses, hospitals, schools and infrastructure facilities, or 273 shells a day on average. The figure for April was about 170 a day.

The largest number of attacks targeted the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Belgorod and Kherson regions, with frontline Russian regions subjected to regular shelling attacks. The Ukrainian forces most often used NATO-standard 155 mm rounds in violation of the international humanitarian law. The second largest number of strikes was delivered by various types of drones, and this figure is rapidly growing. Other weapons popular with the Ukrainian forces are multiple launch rocket systems, mostly those made in the West and using munitions of the Czech, Slovak, Turkish and US make. There were regular attacks by cluster artillery shells and MLRS. Long-range missiles made in the United States, the UK and France were fired, in particular, at targets in the Lugansk People’s Republic and Crimea.

In May 2024, the Ukrainian forces delivered numerous attacks on apartment houses. Houses were destroyed and civilians were killed and wounded in the Belgorod Region and in the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics. These strikes targeted mass gatherings, social and pension facilities, shopping centres, public catering facilities and educational establishments. There were numerous attacks on medical facilities and vehicles.

The number of strikes at civilian vehicles has increased, mostly by drones. Farming and civilian construction equipment was deliberately attacked.

The Ukrainian armed forces’ attacks targeting civilians are pre-planned and deliberate, which is evident from the fact that residential districts were often shelled on weekends and holidays, obviously to increase the number of casualties. The number of strikes at relief teams and units increased as well. Over the past month, 20 members of the Emergencies Ministry personnel were wounded and one rescuer was killed.

Attacks with the largest number of civilian casualties were committed in the middle of May, when the Ukrainian forces were retreating under the onslaught of the Russian army. The goal of those criminal attacks was to stabilise political situation in the Kiev-controlled territory.

And last but not least, over 32 children were caught in these strikes in May. Five of them were killed. On May 4, a 17-year-old teenager stepped on a Ukrainian mine and died in Kamyshevakha, Donetsk People’s Republic. On May 12, the bodies of two children aged 8 and 12 years and a 17-year-old teenager were pulled from rubble after a Ukrainian strike hit an apartment house in Shchors Street in Belgorod. On May 17, a woman and a child were killed when a Ukrainian drone hit a car near Oktyabsky, Belgorod Region.

Massive drone attack on the Borisovka District, Belgorod Region: 9 dead, 41 wounded

At 7 am on May 5, three Ukrainian strike drones attacked civilian vehicles near the village of Beryozovka in the Borisovka District. They targeted two GAZelle vans, which were transporting personnel of the Agro-Belogorye group of companies, and a civilian car that was driving nearby. At least three bombs were deliberately dropped on them. As the result, seven Agro-Belogorye workers were killed and 43 people received wounds of various degrees of severity. In addition, several civilians who were in the cars driving behind the van, in particular, three boys aged 6, 9 and 17 years, were wounded in the drone attack.

Night attack on the Rovenki oil depot in the Lugansk People’s Republic: 4 dead, 11 wounded

On the night of May 10, the Ukrainian forces launched US-made long-range ATACMS missiles at the oil depot in Rovenki. As the result, four civilians were killed and 11, one of them a child, received wounds of various degrees of severity. Two people were gravely wounded and maimed. Not only the oil depot personnel but also civilians in nearby houses received wounds and burns. They were hospitalised with mine-blast traumas and smoke inhalation.

Massive MLRS attack on Belgorod: 1 dead, 29 wounded

On May 11, Ukrainians undertook a massive attack on civilian infrastructure in Belgorod. At least 12 MLRS missiles were launched, targeting apartment houses in several districts of the city. One missile hit a residential block, where a woman died in a blast wave under debris. Overall, 29 civilians, including a teenage girl, were wounded in the city that night. The Ukrainian forces targeted apartment houses, shopping centres, shops and civilian cars parked near houses. A total of 22 apartment houses and four social facilities were damaged, including City Hospital 2, the Children’s Regional Clinical Hospital, the Siren (Lilac) centre of rhythmic gymnastics, and General School 41.

Mlrs strike on a restaurant in Donetsk: 3 dead, 9 wounded

The Kiev regime’s militant units deliberately strike at crowded places, timing their attacks so they occur during peak foot traffic on weekends. One of these attacks took place on May 11 and targeted an area near the Paradise restaurant in the Kirovsky District of Donetsk. The Armed Forces of Ukraine used American-made high-precision HIMARS systems and ammunition with fragmentation warheads. The choice of weapon indicates a clear understanding that they were targeting civilians. The strike razed the restaurant to the ground, burying both its staff and guests under the rubble. Three civilians were killed in the attack: an employee and two male visitors. Nine more civilians were injured, including a 12-year-old girl.

Massive combined strike on Shchorsa street in Belgorod: 19 dead, 27 wounded

On Sunday May 12, around noon, the Armed Forces of Ukraine launched a combined strike on a high-rise residential area in Belgorod’s Kharkovskaya Gora District. The relentless barrage of Vampire and Olkha MLRS caused a jamming of the air defence system that protected the city from raids; after that, at least six Tochka U missiles were fired at the residential area. One of the missiles hit the foundation of a tower block on Shchorsa Street. The resulting explosion caused the entire section of the building from the 10th to the 1st floor to collapse in a matter of seconds. Fifteen people, including two children, died under the debris of the collapsed building.

Numerous residents from the collapsed flats were buried under the rubble. The rescue effort was further complicated by the ensuing fire and the subsequent partial collapse of the roof. Three Emergencies Ministry rescuers were injured while trying to help the victims. The rescue team extracted 17 people, including two children, from under the rubble. Residents had to be urgently evacuated from the surviving parts of the building and sent to temporary accommodation centres.

In addition to residential buildings, some of the ammunition hit the nearby City Mall shopping centre, where two civilians suffered injuries of varying severity.

By the evening, the same residential area became the target of a second attack on Belgorod. At about 8 pm, a new series of strikes followed, killing four more civilians and injuring eight. Fifteen blocks of flats were damaged.

Massive UAV raid on Gorlovka, dpr: 1 dead, 6 wounded

Ukrainian drone operators are increasingly choosing rescue and medical vehicles and other special equipment as their targets. On May 13, a drone attacked an Emergencies Ministry fire truck traveling to a fire scene. As a result of the explosion, four firefighters were injured. Another UAV raid killed one civilian and injured another. The two men became victims of a targeted drop of ammunition from an UAV.

Cluster munitions attack on Donetsk: husband and wife killed

On May 13, an area of single-family homes in the Petrovsky District of Donetsk was attacked with cluster munitions. The resulting explosion killed a couple – a man born in 1955 and his wife born in 1957. They were heading to the market when a Ukrainian shell exploded next to them. The woman died at the scene; the man died later in the hospital. Once again, the militants from the Armed Forces of Ukraine used a repeated strikes tactic. This time, the second attack damaged the funeral service car, which arrived at the scene of the tragedy to remove the body.

Barrel artillery attack on Donetsk: 4 dead, 2 wounded

On May 16, the Petrovsky District of Donetsk came under artillery fire. A public transport stop near School No. 106 was hit with NATO-calibre artillery shells. As before, all the victims of this criminal strike were civilians: four women were killed; a six-year-old girl and a man born in 1987 were injured. When the shelling began, people tried to hide behind the bus stop, but were riddled with shrapnel from a shell that exploded nearby. Two women died at the scene; two more died in the hospital. One of the victims was an employee of the Republican Rehabilitation Centre in Donetsk. The woman worked as a nurse in the medical rehabilitation department. Her six-year-old daughter was seriously injured in the attack.

Himars strike on residential building in Lisichansk: 2 dead, 4 wounded

On May 22, militants from the Armed Forces of Ukraine attacked a residential area in Lisichansk from HIMARS systems. At least six shells were fired, with a tall residential building significantly damaged as a result: the upper floor and the end part of the building were partially destroyed. Two civilians were killed, and four were injured, including a 9-year-old girl.

Massive UAV raid on Oryol region: 1 dead, 3 wounded

On May 27, Ukrainian UAVs attacked a civilian petrol station in Livny. The attackers waited for the Emergencies Ministry firefighters to arrive before they struck a second time. The fire truck driver was killed by an explosion, and three more rescuers were injured. To carry out this cynical strike, the militants of the Armed Forces of Ukraine used at least five attack drones of various modifications.

Rocket artillery strike on Staromikhailovka, dpr: 3 dead, 2 wounded

On May 31, the Ukrainian army again used MLRS to strike at single-family homes in the village of Staromikhailovka. At the time of the shelling, a young couple was in one of the houses – a husband and a pregnant wife. The blow was so destructive that the house was effectively razed to the ground. The man died from the impact; his wife died on the way to the hospital. Three more villagers suffered from the attack: a woman was killed and two men sustained injuries of varying severity.