Double blow – this is what terrible tactics Russia is using in the war in Ukraine

The “Kyiv Independent” portal announces that this merciless and illegal military tactic is called “double strike”. Since 2015 Syria was used as a “testing ground” for these attacks. After the invasion, Russia began to terrorize Ukraine with “double whammy” attacks. Such attacks have become more frequent in recent weeks.

War in Ukraine

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Ukrainian soldiers (photo by SCANPIX)

War in Ukraine (photo by SCANPIX)

Ukrainian soldiers (photo by SCANPIX)

War in Ukraine (photo by SCANPIX)

Injured morals

Russia’s “double whammy” attacks against Ukraine have killed and injured dozens of rescue workers, police officers, medics and journalists who should be protected by international law.

Experts believe the increase in “double whammy” attacks may be linked to Russia’s attempt to demoralize Ukrainians exhausted by more than two years of full-scale war and inflict more damage on the country’s critical infrastructure.

“I heard a terrible whistling. My colleague shouted for me to lie down. And then it hit,” said Kira Oves, journalist of Ukrainian TV channel “1+1”, describing her impressions on April 5. watching the Russian “double strike” missile attack in Zaporizhia.

Her team went to the site of the initial strike in one of Zaporizhia’s largest residential areas to report on the damage to civilian infrastructure. As they prepared to interview residents clearing broken glass from their homes, two more Russian rockets hit the same spot about two hours after the first strike.

The city of Kharkiv under Russian shelling (photo by SCANPIX)

Many injured

Kira Oves suffered a minor head injury, while another Ukrainian journalist, Olha Zvonarova, was seriously injured. A total of four people were killed and 31 injured, including a police officer, according to the regional governor. More than 40 buildings, including civil and industrial infrastructure, were reportedly damaged.

According to Kelly Grieco, a senior researcher at the Stimson Center in the US, if Russia had sought to ensure that it had destroyed the target, the strikes would likely have been carried out with a longer interval.

“However, these strikes are given at 30-minute intervals. This shows that their goal is to cause as much damage as possible and to kill people, including rescuers,” she told Kyiv Independent.

Strikes in Kharkiv

Just a day before the strike in Zaporizhia, Russian forces launched a double drone attack on Kharkiv, killing four people, including three rescue workers. 12 people were also injured, including a rescue worker, a policeman and a nurse.

“The drone hit between two rescue vehicles. Firefighters were lying nearby with serious injuries and calling for help,” said Ukrainian photojournalist Heorhiy Ivanchenko, who witnessed the attack.

March 15 and April 10 Russia’s “double whammy” against Odessa has killed more than 20 people, including a 10-year-old girl, and injured more than 80. Eight rescue workers, an unspecified number of police officers and a paramedic were among the victims.

The Russians attacked Kharkiv

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The Russians attacked Kharkiv (photo by SCANPIX)

This is not the first time the deadly tactic has been used

April 16 According to the data, since the beginning of Russia’s large-scale invasion, a total of 91 employees of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine have been killed, and another 351 have been injured, Oleksandr Choruzhn, the spokesman for the service, told the Kyiv Independent portal.

He said some of these casualties were due to Russia’s “double whammy” attacks, but the exact number has yet to be determined.

Ukraine is not the first country to suffer from Russia’s “double whammy,” a tactic Moscow has used extensively in Syria alongside Bashar al-Assad’s government forces. According to the Syrian Center for Justice and Accountability, between 2013 and 2021 There have been 58 “double whammy” airstrikes in Syria, mostly targeting humanitarian aid workers.

The White Helmets, a volunteer organization rescuing civilians from the rubble of collapsed buildings, has lost more than 300 volunteers during the war in Syria, most of them victims of “double whammy” attacks, in 2023. the group said in July.

Meeting of Presidents (photo by SCANPIX)

Gathers witnesses

The Reckoning Project, which from 2022 collects testimony about war crimes in Ukraine, found many parallels between what happened in Syria and Ukraine. One of the founders of the project is Janine di Giovanni, a human rights reporter and researcher with more than 30 years of experience working in war zones, including Syria.

“Sometimes we even look at Chechnya, because Vladimir Putin is used to indiscriminately attacking the civilian population… This is part of a wider strategy of punishment and control,” said one of the founders of the project.

According to Mr di Giovanni, a “double whammy” attack amounts to a war crime if it can be proven that the attack deliberately targeted civilians, including first responders, humanitarian workers and journalists, which is prohibited by the Geneva Convention.

US forces in Pakistan, Israeli forces fighting in Gaza, and the Saudi-led coalition, 2015. after launching an intervention in Yemen, were also accused of carrying out “double whammy” attacks.

Shelling of the Gaza Strip (photo by SCANPIX)

Ukrainians are exhausted

Russia’s intensified “double whammy” attacks coincide with an increasingly grim situation for Ukrainian forces on the battlefield.

“The war has been going on for two years now. Ukrainians are exhausted. They are demoralized. They are very worried about getting more ammunition from the West. And Putin is using it,” said J. di Giovanni.

Recently, large-scale Russian attacks on energy systems have been taking place in Ukrainian cities, with 80% damaged or destroyed in March alone. the heat production capacity of the country’s largest private energy company DTEK.

In recent weeks, Ukrainian forces have carried out several successful drone strikes against Russian oil refineries and industrial facilities. Some experts believe that Moscow’s intensified attacks could be “punishment” for strikes inside Russia, which on April 11 V. Putin openly stated.

“The Russians have vowed to retaliate, and these twin attacks appear to be part of a retaliatory move to deter the Ukrainians from more such attacks on their energy infrastructure,” Grieco said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskis arrived in Lithuania

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskis arrived in Lithuania (Lukas Balandis/BNS photo)

Efforts to protect

The increase in “double whammy” attacks has forced Ukraine’s Rescue Service to reassess its security protocols to reduce the number of casualties among its staff.

According to O. Choružn, the State Emergency Service has already started implementing new instructions, including equipping rescuers with more advanced bulletproof vests, improving the security warning system and increasing the automation of rescue processes.

However, rescuers cannot afford to arrive at the scene of an attack only when the danger has already passed, because in this case the essence of the rescue services is lost.

“When help is needed, if a person is bleeding under the rubble or needs to be rescued from a fire, no rescuer will wait for hours until the weather danger ends,” said O. Choružnas.

Despite the constant threat posed by Russia’s “double whammy” attacks in Ukraine, journalists are also determined to continue their work in the field.

“Of course, everyone is telling us to be more careful. We also go to the front line cities. Orichiv and Huliaipole… so you can never predict when you might be under fire, said K. Oves. “But when information is needed, especially after attacks that injure and kill people, how can we remain silent?”

The article is in Lithuanian

Tags: Double blow terrible tactics Russia war Ukraine