Russia is reportedly gearing up to “bombard Ukrainian cities into submission,” which could inflict a staggering number of civilian casualties not seen since WWII.
Citing a senior western intelligence official, CNN reported that US and NATO officials monitoring the war in Ukraine noticed that Russia made a pronounced shift in strategy: from targeting military targets to targeting civilians. Now, the Kremlin appears poised to carpet-bomb the entire country using more destructive artillery.
“The heavier weapons are not just heavier in their weight, they’re also heavier in terms of the damage that they can inflict,” the official said, according to CNN. “And they’re far less discriminant. So, more casualties.”
“It is a very crude approach,” the official told the network, adding that he believes Putin has “a completely different standard when it comes to respect for human life.”
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NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also warned that “the days to come are likely to be worse, with more death, more suffering, and more destruction, as the Russian armed forces bring in heavier weaponry and continue their attacks across the country.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken echoed the sentiment during a news conference in Brussels Friday where he is meeting with European allies.
“The Kremlin’s attacks are inflicting an ever-increasing toll on civilians there. Hundreds if not thousands of Ukrainians have been killed, many more wounded, as have citizens of other countries. More than a million refugees have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries. Millions of people across Ukraine are trapped in increasingly dire conditions as Russia destroys more critical infrastructure,” Blinken said, according to CNN.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned NATO’s decision to rule out the implementation of a no-fly zone over the country in a Facebook address late on Friday.
“You gave the green light for further bombing of Ukrainian towns and villages, refusing to make a no-fly zone, Zelensky said of NATO’s leadership. “You could have closed the sky!”
