On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of war crimes over its indiscriminate shelling of major Ukrainian cities, particularly Kyiv and Kharkiv. The Kremlin denied these claims as it continues to face widespread condemnation and hard-hitting economic sanctions for waging war with Ukraine.
On the sixth day of Russia’s invasion, Zelensky called out the Russian military for launching a cruise missile attack on the Freedom Square in Kharkiv. In an address, he called the attacks an act of “outright, undisguised terror,” adding that no one will forget or forgive Russia for its belligerent behaviour. “This attack on Kharkiv is a war crime. This is state terrorism of the Russian Federation,” he added, highlighting that the attack damaged only residential areas. According to AFP, Russia also bombed a government office in Kharkiv that killed 10, and another eight died in a missile strike on a residential building.
Looks like a Russian strike right on the center of Kharkiv, in the main square right by the local government HQ this morning. pic.twitter.com/VivkeHCFr3
— max seddon (@maxseddon) March 1, 2022
Ukraine’s Minister of Defence, Oleksii Reznikov, said that Russia had conducted “barbaric missile and MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket System) attacks on peaceful cities,” and called for legal action to be taken against those responsible. Reznikov noted that Kharkiv was the site where Hitler’s Nazis were convicted of war crimes, adding that it should now become the site where “[the] Kremlin’s followers of Hitler” are also sentenced.
In Kyiv, a Russian missile took down a TV tower in the city centre, killing five. The bombed tower was in the vicinity of the Babyn Yar Holocaust memorial, a historic World War II massacre site where the Nazis killed 33,000 Jews. After the bombing, Zelensky said history is repeating itself as he stated, “What is the point of saying ‘never again’ for 80 years, if the world stays silent when a bomb drops on the same site of Babyn Yar?” In a statement, Israel said it would help rebuild the memorial without mentioning Russian involvement in the destruction of the site.
Russian forces have just fired at the #Kyiv TV Tower.#StandWithUkraine #StopRussia #StopPutinNOW pic.twitter.com/Prf3WMB4gt
— Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (@ua_parliament) March 1, 2022
In sharp contrast, Russia completely denied Ukraine’s war crimes accusations, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claiming, “Russian troops don’t conduct any strikes against civilian infrastructure and residential areas,” despite plenty of evidence suggesting otherwise.
Separately on Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s address at the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council was met with a large boycott, similar to his speech at the conference on disarmament. About 140 diplomats staged a walkout from Lavrov’s virtual appearance at the UN, during which he criticised “anti-Russian sanctions.” Only delegates from Venezuela, Syria, Yemen, and Tunisia stayed back to listen to Lavrov’s address.
This morning in the UN Human Rights Council more than 140 diplomats refused to listen to Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov’s futile attempt to justify unacceptable military aggression. Watch them leave the Council Chamber. pic.twitter.com/Syox5sTvaD
— Elisabeth Tichy-Fisslberger (@tichy_e) March 1, 2022
In another recent development, the Russian Defence Ministry claimed that it has captured the south-eastern Ukrainian city of Kherson. Meanwhile, Russian state-owned media outfit TASS reported that the second round of peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow are set to be held on March 2, citing Ukrainian media outlets Zerkalo Nedeli and Glavkom. The first round of Ukraine-Russia peace talks ended in a deadlock earlier this week.