Kharkiv, Ukraine. April 7, 2022.
A team from the main office of the Kharkiv Maidan Monitoring Information Center has documented more than 200 civil facilities and structures destroyed partially or totally by Russian munitions since March 10, 2022.
MMIC is documenting Russian war crimes in cooperation with Ukrainian state institutions to be used in future criminal proceedings.
Sometimes we find the destroyed infrastructure accidentally and arrive at the scene before the firefighters and before formal criminal investigations can begin. In one instance, thanks to an experienced Polish war reporter, we were able to document an airstrike two seconds after it hit a communication system. We only learned afterwards what was hit by comparing photos and descriptions given by a witness.
We visit some sites more than once to document decay caused by natural conditions and damage by repeated, targeted destruction.
Although we are asked to refrain from comments and evaluations when documenting evidence, we naturally discuss the documents we produce inside our team and, as such, have reached some conclusions we would like to share.
In addition to daily random shelling of residential areas that are reachable by Russian munitions, there is targeted destruction of civil infrastructure, in particular:
Gas, water, electricity and heat supply systems, especially distribution points like substations, transformer booths, water distribution stations, gas pipelines, and power lines in large residential areas.
Refueling and fuel storage systems (oil storage facilities). Other storage facilities.
Transport depots for transport of all types.
Rescue and firefighter units and substations.
Trams and railway rails, power lines for trolleys and electric trains.
Supermarkets (any type or size of market).
Telecommunications infrastructure.
Any type of educational facility from kindergarteners to universities.
Places of culture and children’s art centers.
Any type of administrative buildings.
Humanitarian aid distribution points.
Cultural and historic monuments and memorials.
Important: This list does not include collateral damage, but describes civil facilities and structures that have been targeted by Russian munitions including long distance ballistic missiles.
Structures are hit repeatedly in case the target is missed or minimally damaged by the first hit. See an example: a historical functioning fire department. This is the reason why we do not publish most of our photos and videos.
To be continued.
Nataliya Zubar, Chair of Maidan Monitoring Information Center
Serhiy Petrov, Secretary of Maidan Monitoring Information Center
Assisted and helped by other members and partners of our Organization from Kharkiv to San Francisco.
If you are an official representative of state institutions of Ukraine and allied states, and want to get more detailed information, email us monitor@maidan.org.ua
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