Ukraine claims success in Kharkiv as Russian offensive slows | DW News

Ukraine claims success in Kharkiv as Russian offensive slows | DW News

Ukraine’s second biggest city har is coming under near constant bombardment as Russia presses ahead with a new offensive Kev has accused Russia of targeting civilians after a wave of Russian drone and missile strikes swept across the region Moscow has consistently denied targeting civilians deliberately but many are coming under Fire regardless two children were playing here when a guided aerial bomb hid this private yard in central harkee now officials are assessing the damage while the father is being treated by paramedics his wife and two children all in hospital strikes like this one have been hit in Ukraine’s second largest city daily as Russia continues its offensive in the Northeast for some there’s been no respite from weeks of attacks it’s the second air strike on This Woman’s house it’s exactly the same place as the last hit it was Easter 2022 the Russians were shelling then I’ve just finished restoring the house myself now I don’t know what to do tens of thousands have already been evacuated from harff region but some remain in defiance of the Russian Onslaught I was eating in the kitchen and went to another room to drink coffee I heard an explosion I didn’t know where plaster and glass were flying everywhere then there was another explosion I was scared and wanted to run away but I didn’t know where to go or what to do more har residents May soon have to decide whether to stay on as Russia captures more villages in the area it is fear that nowhere will be safe for civilians well and for some analysis on that let’s bring in Marina Miron from the war studies department at King’s College in London good to have you with us now we know Ukrainian prosecutors have opened an investigation into possible war crimes in har and W Chans but are we talking about war crimes is that what we’re seeing here good morning Monica well we have to be very very careful when we’re looking at incidents like this because we have seen that throughout the war it takes time to actually establish what it was and a day after such attacks it’s virtually impossible to reach a conclusive decision and the laws of war obviously prohibit uh intentional targeting of civilians now there is also the possibility of collateral damage and I think it’s a very important distinction which has to be kept in mind here therefore it’s very early to jump to conclusion specifically because we’ve seen it throughout the war the Russians have been accusing ukrainians of the same in belgrad Ukrainian side has been accusing the Russians yes there will be war crimes as in any war and that is an unfortunate reality but they have to be distinguished from collateral damage and they have to be investigated properly and that takes years it’s not a matter of two three days or even weeks let’s take a look at the front line because uh Vladimir selin reported some success by Ukrainian troops fighting uh the renewed Russian assault in the har region uh what more do you know about that well it seems like the assault is not progressing as fast as it was last week so the Russians would have to cross the wer river which is dividing wens and they are obviously attempting to isolate wens from from the East so in that direction there seems to be much less activity than in other directions but we have to be very careful and look at the entire line of contact and what is happening there and I’m specifically referring to the Kens region and to borka where the Russians are seeming to make advances it’s still too early to tell they’re also active around otin and in chivar zapar robotin is another important direction for the Russians so we have to look at the complete picture and it seems that W chance for now seems to be a little bit calmer how that will evolve will depend on how well the Ukrainian forces can defend against the Russians uh and that exactly brings us to the next point because uh we know that Ukraine is struggling with a lack of equipment lack of weapons uh and now a study shows that there is another restriction that could hamper Ukraine’s defensibility namely uh restrictions in the way weapons provided by Western allies can be used could you explain that to us well there have been concerns and these concerns are not new and they are related to the whole um Aid that has been supplied to Ukraine by Western countries namely the fact that Ukraine shouldn’t use those weapons to strike Russia proper and that has been a problem Ukraine has also been criticized for using drones to strike Russian oil refineries for instance and it it is a legitimate military Target from from the Ukrainian point of view of course however there are even restrictions being placed on that some saying that Ukraine in this situation could take advantage of potentially and so restricting Ukraine from let’s say striking across the border where um Russian groupings of troops are preparing for new theault is of course hampering Ukraine’s capabilities and if we put it into the whole picture where Ukraine is already struggling with Manpower with shortage of Technology restricting Ukraine in that way is of course very significant for Ukraine’s ability to defend itself because the Russians can use those territories without any fear of being attacked by Ukrainian forces all right Marina Miron from the war studies department at Kings College London is ever thank you so much thank you for having me

Ukraine’s second biggest city Kharkiv is coming under near constant bombardment, as Russia presses ahead with a new offensive. Kyiv has accused Russia of targeting civilians after a wave of Russian drone and missile strikes swept across the region. Moscow has consistantly denied targeting civilians deliberately, but many are coming under fire regardless.

00:00 Intro and report
02:28 DW speaks with Marina Miron of the War Studies Department at King’s College London

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