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usafphantom2 · 5 months

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Russian cruise missile violated Polish airspace

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 12/30/2023 - 12:15 in Military, War Zones

On December 29, a cruise missile launched by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation violated Polish airspace during a target attack in Ukraine.

The incident occurred at 7:12 a.m. local time, near the Poland-Ukraine border. According to the Polish Armed Forces, the missile re-entered Ukrainian territory after approximately three minutes in Poland's airspace.

Map showing the place where the Russian cruise missile would have entered Polish airspace on December 29. (BBC infographic)

In the X, the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces said that the object entered through the Ukrainian side of the border and was observed by the country's air defense system, penetrating about 24 miles into Polish airspace and disappearing after less than three minutes. He also stated that air defense troops were mobilized to identify and find the object.

The flight trajectory of the missile was continuously monitored by Polish and Allied radar systems. Polish air defense systems were in readiness and F-16C/D fighters were sent to patrol the area where the missile crossed Polish airspace.

In addition, to verify the radar data, ground forces, air forces and territorial defense troops were mobilized to track the trajectory of the missile on the ground.

President Andrzej Duda called an emergency meeting on security; NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg released a statement on X saying he talked to Duda about the “missile incident” and said that NATO remains vigilant and monitoring the situation “as the facts are established.”

This incident was part of a major Russian attack involving twelve Tu-95MS Bear-H bombers, each launching Kh-55/Kh-555/Kh-101 cruise missiles, along with Tu-22M3 Backfire-C bombers that launched eight Kh-22/Kh-32 supersonic cruise missiles. More than 90 cruise missiles were used in the attack, with most allegedly intercepted by Ukrainian air defenses.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense noted that the combined Russian attack used more than 90 cruise missiles of the types mentioned, 36 Shahed-136 attack drones, S-300/400 anti-aircraft missiles in ground attack mode. In addition, five MiG-31K Foxhound fighters each launched a single Kinzhal ballistic missile launched from the air.

Ukrainian authorities said that at least 144 people were injured and that many others probably remained buried under the rubble.

According to the spokesman of the Ukrainian Air Force, Yurii Ihnat, Russia “apparently launched everything it had” against targets throughout Ukraine. Surprisingly, the attack did not seem to involve any Kalibr cruise missiles launched by ships or submarines, with long-range Russian bombers bearing the weight of the operation.

Tags: Military AviationWar Zones - Russia/Ukraine

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Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has works published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. He uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.

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ftgrfk-blog · 11 months

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Massive missile attack by russian terrorists on Odesa.

At least five types of missiles of all types of bases: "Caliber", "Onyx", Kh-22, Iskander-K, Iskander-M.

At this moment, 1 person died, 22 were injured, 4 of them were children.

As a result of a missile attack, Transfiguration Cathedral was damaged.

russian terrorists also launched a missile attack on the historic center of Odessa, which is protected by UNESCO.

#russian terrorism #russian crimes #russian invasion in ukraine #russia terrorist state #russian invasion #russia is a terrorist state #ukraine war #odesa #fuck putin #fuck russia

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mariacallous · 4 months

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Russian troops launched drone strikes on Ukrainian territory early on Friday. Ukraine’s Air Force Command reported a total of 31 drones, 23 of which were shot down over Ukraine’s Odesa, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kharkiv regions by air defenses.

Additionally, Ukraine’s Air Force said that Russia launched three missiles from S-300 systems located in occupied territory in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, as well as a Kh-31 anti-radar missile and two Kh-22 supersonic cruise missiles from the Black Sea.

In Odesa, debris from a downed drone hit a business and started a fire. Three employees there were killed, reported Ukraine’s Defense Forces South. Odesa governor Oleh Kiper said missiles were also used in the attack on the region.

A drone hit a multi-story apartment building in the city of Dnipro. As of 5 a.m. local time, there was information on eight injured residents, said Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhiy Lysak. Rescuers are working to clear the rubble, and there may be more people trapped underneath.

Lysak stated that a business in Dnipro was also damaged.

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never-was-has-been · 5 months

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From Aure Free Press: RUSSIAN MURDER!

In total, last night Russia fired at Ukraine:

- 7 S-300/S-400 anti-aircraft guided missiles; - 3 Shahed drones; - 6 Kh-47M2 "Kinzhal" aerial ballistic missiles - 12 cruise missiles Kh-101/Kh-555/X-55; - 6 cruise missiles Kh-22; - 2 guided aircraft missiles Kh-31P; - 4 Kh-59 guided aircraft missiles.

More than 20 missiles that were not included in the statistics did not reach their targets.

MAGA MIKE JOHNSON wanted each missile to hit their mark! _____My reply to Aure Free Press: " @Free_Press I liked & boosted this. However, can Aure Free Press verify that Speaker MAGA Mike actually said this out loud or implied it VERY specifically? IF NOT then WHY do U post this hyperbole? I infer from this that he said this or implied it too, becuz the man is NOT a Pro-America patriot like he claims 2 be albeit his version of "Jesus" is a hateful vengeful tyrant-god. So make a point 2 at least write what U can backup with a reliable source(s)!🤨 WE are at the mercy of Global media.😨😒😤😡 "

#AureFreePress #Ukraine️#speaker Mike Johnson

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ukrainenews · 1 year

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Daily Wrap Up January 16-17, 2023

Under the cut:

Britain will send a squadron of Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine to help push back Russia’s invasion, the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, has confirmed.

The death toll of Russia's Jan. 14 attack on an apartment building in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro has risen to 45, according to Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor Valentyn Reznichenko. The death toll includes 6 children. 79 are injured. [Note: These numbers may continue to change as rescue and cleanup efforts continue.]

Ukrainian troops have arrived at Fort Sill in Oklahoma to begin training on the Patriot missile system, the US Army base announced Monday.

The Netherlands plans to join the US and Germany in sending a Patriot missile defense system to Ukraine, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said during a meeting with US President Joe Biden at the White House on Tuesday.

“Britain will send a squadron of Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine to help push back Russia’s invasion, the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, has confirmed.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Wallace said Russia had “singularly failed to break the will of the Ukrainian people” and had “managed to lose significant numbers of generals and commanding officers”.

He said:

We now would expect a trend back towards a Russian offensive, no matter how much loss of life accompanies it.

Ukraine’s allies must “accelerate our collective efforts to dramatically, economically and militarily to keep the pressure” on Vladimir Putin, Wallace said.

Announcing what he described as “the most significant package of combat to date to accelerate Ukrainian success”, Wallace said the UK would send a squadron of Challenge 2 tanks with armoured recovery and repair vehicles.

The announcement makes the UK the first western power to supply the Ukrainians with main battle tanks, which would be used to help train Ukrainian troops, and will heap further pressure on Germany to approve a wider delivery of the vehicles this week.

In a call with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, on Saturday, the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, confirmed for the first time that it was Britain’s intention to provide a small number of Challenger 2 tanks to Kyiv.

After the phone call, a spokesperson for the prime minister said the offer of Challenger 2 tanks and additional artillery systems was a sign of the UK’s “ambition to intensify our support to Ukraine”.

In response, the Kremlin said today that the Challenger 2s “will burn” on the battlefield, and claimed the supplies were an attempt to draw out the conflict.”-via The Guardian

“The death toll of Russia's Jan. 14 attack on an apartment building in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro has risen to 45, according to Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor Valentyn Reznichenko.

Another child has been found among those killed, Reznichenko said.

At least six children were killed in the attack.

The strike also left 79 injured, and the death toll could still rise as dozens of people are still missing, and the rescue mission continues.

Three days after a Russian Kh-22 missile struck the apartment building, rescuers continued to work to retrieve people from the rubble.”-via Kyiv Independent

“Ukrainian troops have arrived at Fort Sill in Oklahoma to begin training on the Patriot missile system, the US Army base announced Monday.

CNN was first to report that the training was set to begin as soon as this week.

Fort Sill is home to the Fires Center of Excellence where the US conducts Patriot training for its own military and other countries.

“The same instructors who teach U.S., allied and partner nations will conduct the Ukrainian training, and these classes will not detract from the ongoing training missions at Fort Sill,” the base said in a statement.

The training will take “several months” on the advanced but complex long-range aerial defense system, according to Pentagon officials. It’s not clear how much the military can accelerate the training program.”-via CNN

“The Netherlands plans to join the US and Germany in sending a Patriot missile defense system to Ukraine, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said during a meeting with US President Joe Biden at the White House on Tuesday.

“We have the intention to join what you are doing with Germany on the Patriots project, so the air defense system. I think that is important that we join that,” Rutte said, adding that he’s already discussed the issue with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“We can never accept that Putin and Russia get away with it this, so our accountability to take them to court, to make sure that this all gets done,” Rutte said. A Dutch defense ministry spokesperson declined to comment beyond Rutte’s statement.

Biden and Rutte “reaffirmed the historic ties and shared values that link” the US and the Netherlands when they met Tuesday, the White House said, in a readout of the meeting.

The two leaders, “reviewed our steadfast political, security, economic, and humanitarian support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s brutal war of aggression, including our efforts to hold Russia accountable for its abuses and for the war crimes committed by Russian forces,” according to the readout. They also discussed “growing cooperation on other foreign policy priorities, including our shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific.””-via CNN

#Daily Update #Ukraine #Russia #War in Ukraine #UK #Dnipro #US #Netherlands

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awesome-casuallyfamouscollector · 2 years

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Very good news: Dyagilevo Air base, Ryazan Oblast (~500km from the Ukrainian border, 175km from Moscow), a Ukrainian drone attack damaged a Russian Tu-22M-3, RF-34110 (Red 02). The aircraft appears to have been armed with a pair of Kh-22 (AS-4 'Kitchen') missiles when it was hit. Source: OSINTtechnical

P.S. Ukrainian drones have managed to successfully punish several Russian war criminals who participated in the bombing of civilians in Ukraine...

#Ukraine #russian invasion #Tu-22 #bomber #russian attack on civilians #russian defeat #russian imperialism #russian losses #aviation history #Dyagilevo Air base #ukrainian independence war #russian war criminals

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pretordh · 2 years

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The Air Force repelled a massive missile attack on Ukraine: more than 60 of the more than 70 invaders' missiles were shot down, the command of the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

In total, more than 70 missiles were fired.

According to preliminary information, 38 Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles were launched from eight Tu-95ms strategic aviation missile-carrying aircraft from the Caspian Sea and Volgodonsk regions of the Rostov region.

The enemy also struck with 22 Kalibr cruise missiles from the ships of the Black Sea Fleet.

In addition, long-range Tu-22m3 bombers with three Kh-22 cruise missiles, as well as Su-35 fighters with six Kh-59 and one Kh-31P guided air missiles attacked Ukraine from the Black Sea.

Anti-aircraft missile units, aviation, mobile fire groups of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other components of the Defense Forces were involved in repelling the air attack.

In total, more than 60 rockets of the invaders were shot down!

#russian agression #war #ukraine war #ukraine #stop russia #stop putin #stop war #russian terrorism

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yaoi-reading · 11 months

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FUCK RUSSIA!

Upd. Night attack by bombers with cruise missiles kh-22 that our air-defense can’t hit. Three loud explosions that you do not only can hear and also feel. Fucking terrorist state and while west is refusing to provide us with long range weapons and f16 that can prevent attacks like that russia keeps killing us. Fuck them!

Upd-2. They hit the center of the city, fire broke out. No information about victims but knowing the impact of kh-22 missiles I am not optimistic about it:(

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tomorrowusa · 1 year

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From @guyverhofstadt . Guy Verhofstadt is a member of the European Parliament and served as Prime Minister of Belgium from 1999 to 2008.

Seldom does a day go by without a war crime by Putin’s Russia.

Putin can’t make any military progress in his war of aggression against Ukraine so he bombs civilians. This time his target was an apartment complex in Dnipro.

Russia carries out two mass rocket strikes on Ukraine killing at least 14 people

One video, purported to be from near the scene of the attack, showed people running away, while another showed the immediate aftermath of the strike – a courtyard covered in a thick layer of grey dust, a cloud of smoke and a woman can be heard screaming in the background.

At least 14 people, including a 15-year-old girl, were killed and 64 wounded in the attack, the Dnipropetrovsk governor, Valentyn Reznichenko, said on Telegram. Seven children were among the wounded, the youngest aged three, he added.

So far 38 people had been pulled from the rubble and the search operation was continuing, he said.

youtube

So far we have just been tinkering around the edges with sanctions. As Mr. Verhofstadt suggests, Russian assets should be seized and given to Ukraine.

Russia is a terrorist state and should be treated as such. Those who take the side of Putin like Donald Trump and Tucker Carlson are terrorist sympathizers.

EDIT: We now know who planned the attack.

Russian commander responsible for striking at Dnipro residential building identified

The nine-story apartment building in Dnipro was hit in a large-scale Russian missile attack on the afternoon of Jan. 14. At least 21 people were killed and another 73 were injured, according to latest reports.

"Today, a terrorist who serves in this regiment launched a missile attack on a building in Dnipro," Sternenko’s post reads.

According to Ukrainian sources, the strike was conducted via Kh-22 missile launched by a Tu-22M aircraft in Russia’s Kursk Oblast. The pilot's call sign is 4249, and the aircraft then landed at an airfield in Russia’s Ryazan.

"Oleg Timoshin knows exactly the entire crew of the terrorists on board the plane," the volunteer added.

Bratchuk and Sternenko stated that an earlier missile strike was launched against a shopping center in Kremenchuk, Poltava Oblast, on June 27, 2022 – by the same Russian commander. At the time, over 20 people were killed and another 30 were reported missing.

Hopefully we’ll eventually see Oleg in The Hague. Ukrainian cyber investigators will be on his trail from this point onward.

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kamogryadeshi · 1 year

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Operational command "South" showed the consequences of the Russian missile attack in the Odesa region.

A Russian Kh-22 missile hit the warehouse of a wire company, causing a severe fire

#ukraine #russia is a terrorist state #russia invades ukraine #russian war crimes #russia ukraine war #russian invasion #russian agression #russia

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usafphantom2 · 3 months

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Russia would have deployed Su-57 fighters to attack targets in Ukraine

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 02/29/2024 - 16:00 in Military, War Zones

The Russian Air Force would have recently deployed its newest Su-57 fighter for combat operations, specifically targeting Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine.

On February 18, 2024, an operation saw a Su-57, accompanied by two Su-35 jets, carry out a missile attack against Ukrainian military installations. The mission originated in the Luhansk region, currently under occupation, where the Su-57, accompanied by its escorts, penetrated Ukrainian airspace to carry out a missile launch, according to the Defence-blog website.

The operation involved the use of a Kh-69 stealth cruise missile designed exclusively for the Su-57. However, due to a malfunction, the missile deviated from the intended trajectory and fell into a field, failing to reach the target. Despite this setback, there were previous cases, specifically on February 7 and 8, in which Kh-69 was successfully used in air strikes. This missile, evolving from the Kh-59MK2, is compatible with several Russian military aircraft.

Some points about the mission are not yet clear. For example, there is a confusion about the type of Kh-59MK2 cruise missiles that would have been used. Strangely, a Su-57 would not normally need to cross Ukraine's airspace to hit targets in Luhansk. That's because the Kh-59MK2 can hit these targets even in the depths of Russia's borders.

Despite the uncertainty, it is known that there was some action in the region in early February. Ukrainian sources confirmed attacks involving Kh-59MK2 on the 7th and 8th. This missile is effective against small and fortified targets, proven by its successful previous use in Syria.

Although the Kh-59MK2 can reach targets up to 300 km away, it is small enough to fit inside the internal weapon compartments of the Su-57. This means that the plane can maintain a low radar profile. The most interesting thing is that no other "fifth generation" jet fighter is known to carry this type of missile internally.

It was also observed that the use of the state-of-the-art Su-57 in the missile attack against Ukraine served a dual purpose, with the intention of producing a military propaganda film. This production aims to demonstrate the feats of the Russian defense sector and is expected to play a significant role in the narrative that will precede the next presidential elections in Russia.

No official image was released of the Su-57 operation in Ukraine.

The Sukhoi Su-57 (NATO codename: Felon), Russia's main fifth-generation multifunctional poacher, represents a significant leap in the country's military aviation capabilities. Developed by Sukhoi, a subsidiary of United Aircraft Corporation, the Su-57 was designed to fulfill aerial and attack superiority functions, boasting advanced stealth technology, supersonic cruising speed and highly integrated avionics.

Despite its advanced capabilities, the development of the Su-57 faced challenges, including delays and excessive costs. However, it progressively advanced to operational status within the Russian Air Force, with the first production model delivered in 2020. The Su-57 is seen as a key component of Russia's future air combat capabilities, intended to challenge fifth-generation Western fighters, such as the F-22 Raptor and the F-35 Lightning II.

In addition to its military role, the Su-57 is also positioned as a flagship project that shows Russia's technological prowess and its ability to produce a state-of-the-art stealth fighter that could potentially be offered for export to allied nations, further expanding its influence on global defense markets.

Tags: Military AviationRFSAF - Russian Federation Aerospace Force/Russian Aerospace ForceSukhoi Su-57 FelonWar Zones - Russia/Ukraine

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blueiskewl · 2 years

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Russian War Crimes

A Russian missile attack hit an 'Important Military Target' - a civilian home - in the city of Dnipro and killed two adults and two children.

Damage and lack of accuracy almost certainly indicates that it was a Russian AS-4 'Kitchen' (Kh-22), the same type that hit a mall in Kremenchuk early this summer.

#2022 russian invasion of ukraine #2022 russia-ukraine news #ukraine #russia #dnipro #missile #russian as-4 #russian missile attack #civilians attacked #war crimes #russian war crimes #russian criminals #war #world at war #weapons #battle #fighting #sad

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mariacallous · 1 year

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When a Kh-22 missile slammed into a residential apartment block in the city of Dnipro on January 14, it killed nearly 50 civilians and wounded dozens more. It was one of the largest such attacks since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine which Russian President Vladimir Putin launched one year ago today. Russia’s destruction of residential buildings, hospitals, schools and power infrastructure have been widely reported in the period since.

Speaking at an awards ceremony on December 8 Putin, champagne glass in hand, acknowledged and sought to justify Russia’s campaign to destroy Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in what was widely considered to be a bid to break the country’s resolve. So far, those ambitions have failed.

But as Bellingcat’s project to map and log incidents of civilian harm in Ukraine shows, many other facets of civilian life have also been attacked. They are the bus stops where people wait at the start of a working day, the playgrounds where they take their children and the post offices where mail parcels and letters are processed. Open source imagery – videos and photos from Ukraine, collected and verified by Bellingcat’s Global Authentication Project – tell the story of these key amenities and the citizens killed while using them. Each of the codes given in brackets corresponds to a verified incident on Bellingcat’s TimeMap, which you can explore further here. At the time of publication, more than a thousand incidents are recorded on the map.

Heading to Work

Ukraine’s metro systems, which tunnel deep beneath three of its largest cities, have sheltered thousands of civilians during Russian attacks. They’re emblematic of the country’s resilience, despite also being a target themselves on a number of occasions. But above ground, tram, trolleybus and bus stops can be far riskier – single strikes can and have killed dozens of commuters who congregate on the side of a street.

One small group was waiting outside Kharkiv’s Pedagogical University on the morning of July 20 (CIV1195). They stood at the Barabashova Street bus stop, at the intersection of two busy streets. They’d have had a view of the Vesuvalny canal, which flows into the Kharkiv River and then through the centre of Ukraine’s second-largest city. All were killed at 9:30 AM by what the authorities said was an ‘Uragan’ multiple launch system. According to the prosecutor, among the victims were a 72-year old woman, a 13-year old boy and his 15-year old sister. Photos shared by local media show the skeleton of the metal bus stop and a number of bodies.

Similar stories can be found across Ukraine.

For example, on the afternoon of March 15, three people sat in heavy coats in a bus shelter outside the town of Velyka Dymerka, just north of Kyiv (CIV0373). They were huddled in heavy coats, as is normal for Ukraine in March.

What happened next was captured on what appears to be CCTV footage. First, an orange flash can be seen behind a row of trees in the distance. The explosions come closer. One strikes just in front of the bus shelter and another behind. One of those waiting makes a move just before smoke fills the bottom half of the screen. Another figure runs out of sight.

This video was published on the InsiderUA Telegram channel. It is unclear whether any of the people featured survived. The local outlet BrovaryMedia commented under a Facebook post of the same footage that police had been unable to retrieve the bodies given that the town was occupied by Russian forces at the time of the event. According to reporting by Gazeta.UA, Velyka Dymerka was liberated on April 1.

The next month in an area of the Donetsk Region under government control, 10 workers stood in front of a bus at a platform at the massive Avdiivka Coke Plant. It was the end of their shift. CCTV footage shows an explosion almost directly in front of them. The screen soon fills with smoke. Citing police statements, the news website LB.UA wrote that seven workers were killed and 19 wounded in this May 4 attack. In press images, broken glass and bloodstains can be seen over the tarmac. Police shared an image of a munition fragment consistent with a BM-21 rocket.

As Russia’s invasion has dragged on, such attacks have continued. Extremely graphic images appeared online following an attack on a Mykolaiv bus stop on July 29 (CIV1235). Sevenwere killed and 19 hospitalised in this attack, according to the city’s mayor Oleg Senekevich.

On February 21 this year, as Putin gave a speech marking a year of his ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine, a rocket struck a bus stop in Kherson. Ukrainian officials said that it killed six people. All in all, at the time of publication, Bellingcat’s TimeMap has recorded 19 attacks on public transport and transport infrastructure. This number includes cases in territories controlled by Russia such as an attack on a Donetsk bus station on July 14 (CIV1193). The full number of deaths from these incidents is not known; Ukraine’s Ministry of Infrastructure could not respond by press time.

Posting a Letter

Even in the digital age in a country which has taken steps to digitise its bureaucracy, snail mail remains a vital mode of communication. Ukraine’s state postal service Ukrposhta has even issued stamps glorifying the country’s resistance to Russia’s invasion. Yet the service has, understandably, been severely impacted by the war. On the afternoon of April 15, a cruise missile struck a postal sorting centre in the Pivnichniyy District of Mykolaiv. For months, the southern Ukrainian port city was on the frontline as Russian forces attempted to advance west of Kherson (CIV0784). Mykolaiv was heavily bombarded; as Bellingcat has reported, at the start of the month a hospital and markets came under attack from rocket artillery stationed in the Russian-occupied Kherson Region. Images shared on Telegram by Mykolaiv Region Governor Vitaly Kim showed the aftermath. One picture from the scene showed the head of a cruise missile. Conveyor belts for letters and parcels are warped out of shape, with red metal sorting boxes strewn throughout a hall of twisted metal. It’s new equipment; according to a local news website, this postal logistics terminal had opened in 2021. The same day Volodymyr Popereshnyuk, co-owner of the Nova Poshta company which owned the facility, wrote on Facebook that no staff had been killed but three were hospitalised after the attack.

Ukrposhta’s General Director Igor Smelyansky told Bellingcat that he estimated more than 500 postal branches could have suffered anything from light damage or been entirely razed to the ground since February 24. “We can only guess about the number since we do not have access to those in occupied territories such as Mariupol”, he cautioned.

Postal workers face the same risks as the rest of Ukraine’s civilians, Smelyansky explained. “There are losses of life when people are in their homes. People are killed when they go home at night because there’s no light”, he explained, adding that only two postal staff have been killed in the line of duty.

He referred to a case on March 5 in the Zaporizhzhia Region. Two postal workers were driving around small villages delivering pensions to local people. According to Ukrainian media reporting, citing government sources, the postal workers had encountered a group of pro-Russian Chechen fighters who shot at their car before crushing it.

A single photo which is extremely graphic is the only open source evidence of these events. Two bodies lie on the roadside, surrounded by papers. A crushed car lies behind them. The image was reportedly taken by other postal workers who left before they could retrieve the bodies, due to the presence of Russian troops in the area. As the Ukrainian press’ account of these events could not be independently verified using open source research, it cannot be found in Bellingcat’s TimeMap.

Post offices, like many other commercial or administrative spaces, have also reportedly served as humanitarian centres since the start of the invasion. On March 24, Ukrainian media reported a Nova Poshta facility in Kharkiv’s Saltivka district had been hit alongside other buildings, which according to the local prosecutor killed three and injured eight (CIV0533). Bellingcat’s Michael Sheldon assembled a Google Map showing missile impacts related to this incident, in which the motor section of a rocket slammed into a crowd of people waiting for aid outside the postal building. The previous day, the Russian military blogger Rybar alleged in a Telegram post that a Ukrainian military presence had been sighted in the immediate area, later providing inconclusive evidence for the claim.

Ukraine’s postal infrastructure continues to suffer as Russia’s invasion grinds on. On February 12, Suspilne Media reported that a Nova Poshta depot near Kharkiv’s Balashivskyi railway station was struck by an S-300 surface to air missile (CIV1858).

Having Fun

“This playground had a castle and a locomotive. Now it has a rocket”, wrote the journalist Alec Luhn on Twitter. In the image he shared on February 27, the motor section of a rocket can be seen embedded inside a children’s playground in the Saltivka district of Kharkiv (CIV0448).

Just two days earlier, a 9M55K rocket was photographed stuck in the ground near a grove of trees just in front of another playground in Saltivka (CIV0460). And again on March 6, the playground of a courtyard in the same block as that referred to in Luhn’s Tweet was struck in the same manner; a rocket was photographed sticking out of the ground just metres away from another train-shaped climbing frame (CIV0266).

These are just three of the dozens of images of destroyed children’s playgrounds in Ukraine which have been shared online over the past year. It is hard to establish with any certainty whether these playgrounds were attacked deliberately. However, it is clear that they are not being excluded from Russia’s indiscriminate bombardment of Ukraine’s cities, from which the Kharkiv district of Saltivka has suffered particularly badly.

In Ukraine’s cities, children’s playgrounds are often situated in courtyards between large Soviet-era apartment blocks. Even if such rockets do not strike these residential buildings, impacts such as those seen here would also damage cars, local shops, residential buildings and kill or maim passing pedestrians. Detonating cluster munitions would harm civilians over a wide area, regardless of whether the rocket was aimed at a civilian building.

Indeed, the Smerch and Uragan rockets seen in these images are capable of carrying cluster munitions. This weapons system deploys a large number of smaller sub-munitions over a target, which in turn spread and explode over a larger area. This increases the potential for casualties as unsuspecting civilians – including children – trigger the devices.

An example of this risk can be seen last April, when the prosecutor’s office in the Sumy Region shared an image of a rocket lying behind a tree in a playground in the town of Akhtyrka (CIV0754). The spent cargo section, which has deployed its submunitions, can clearly be seen. Submunitions were also attached to the Tochka ballistic missile which struck a playground, residential building and three cars in Mariupol in March (CIV0139)

At the time of writing, Bellingcat’s TimeMap database includes 13 incidents of attacks on children’s playgrounds across Ukraine, including one case from occupied Donetsk in August 2022 (CIV1242) and a cruise missile strike on Shevchenko Park in the very heart of Ukraine’s capital Kyiv in October (CIV1506).

The Human Toll

On February 21, the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said in a statement that the agency had verified 8,006 civilian deaths and 13,827 injuries in Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion. “Nearly 18 million people are in dire need of humanitarian assistance and nearly 14 million have been displaced from their homes”.

Many of these deaths and injuries are documented in Bellingcat’s database. But it is important to note that open source imagery likely represents only a fraction of the harm caused to civilians by Russia’s invasion.

Other facilities to be struck, and included in Bellingcat’s civilian harm database, include psychiatric hospitals (CIV0445), fire stations (CIV1040), religious (CIV0370) and commercial sites (CIV0894). The prevalence of certain types of imagery online can also reflect what people on the ground in Ukraine feel is most important to share with the wider world. In the case of destroyed playgrounds, they are shared to demonstrate the attackers’ disregard for human life. The reception to Luhn’s Tweet is a case in point.

According to Yulia Gorbunova, Senior Researcher on Ukraine at Human Rights Watch (HRW), incidents of indiscriminate attacks on civilians in Ukraine could amount to war crimes.

“Under international humanitarian law, parties to an armed conflict must distinguish at all times between civilians and combatants, between civilian objects and military objectives, and take precautions to protect civilians. Failure to observe this principle — either by directly targeting civilians or civilian objects or by conducting indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks — is a war crime when committed deliberately or recklessly. Unlawful and wanton excessive destruction of property that is not militarily justified is also a war crime,” said Gorbunova.

“Additionally, explosive weapons with wide-area effect should not be used in populated areas. Their use heightens the likelihood of unlawful, indiscriminate, and disproportionate attacks and civilian harm, including commuters,” Gorbunova added.

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