All articles tagged with #civilian attacks
Russia and Ukraine accused each other of targeting civilians during New Year's, with Russia reporting a deadly drone strike on a hotel in occupied southern Ukraine and Ukraine attacking energy infrastructure, amid ongoing tensions and peace talks.
Russia's summer offensive in Ukraine is stalling despite increased attacks, with gains slowing and some regions, like Sumy, experiencing setbacks. Russian forces face issues with poorly trained troops and overstretched resources, limiting their ability to make significant breakthroughs. Meanwhile, Russia continues to target civilian areas with devastating strikes, indicating a long-term goal to control the entire country.
The Wagner mercenary group, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, has been responsible for routine targeting and killing of civilians in Africa, particularly in the Central African Republic (CAR) and Mali. Wagner, a loose network of subsidiaries linked to the Russian state, operates under contracts with foreign governments, enabling the Kremlin to engage in foreign crusades with little accountability. Data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) reveals that Wagner forces have been involved in a significant percentage of violent events in both CAR and Mali, with a propensity for targeting civilians. Attacks on ordinary people, including abduction, sexual violence, and torture, account for a large portion of Wagner's clashes in these regions. The group's violence against civilians has resulted in a high number of deaths, with reports of hundreds of people being killed in single attacks. Journalists investigating Wagner in Africa face arrest, and three have been murdered.