Russia Strikes Civilian Targets in Kherson

Civilians killed and infrastructure destroyed: Russia strikes Kherson, killing 23 Ukrainians

On 3 May, the Russians carried out a missile attack on the Epicentre hypermarket in Kherson. This premeditated attack killed 23 civilians and injured 46 more. On the night of 4 May, the Russian Federation launched 24 Iranian-made drones toward Kyiv and Odessa: 18 drones were shot down. This is the third aerial attack in the first four days of May. Putin, a fan of symbolism, on the eve of Russia's Victory Day celebrations, stepped up his terror against Ukrainians, who in his view should be destroyed as a people and Ukraine stripped of its statehood. Russia has become a mortal threat to the entire civilised world: its entire potential - demographic, economic, industrial - is being used to continue the war, which could drag on for decades if the Russian army is not defeated terminally. It is a matter of civilisational survival for the West.

Russia continues to kill Ukrainian civilians and destroy civilian infrastructure on a daily basis - almost 100% of missiles and drones fired by Russian air force units are aimed at non-military targets in Ukraine, killing and maiming women and children. This is the hallmark of the Russian army - it acts as a terrorist organisation that does not abide by the laws of war. Unable to gain superiority on the battlefield, Putin is committing genocide against Ukrainians on ethnic grounds - a similar tactic will be used against Europeans in the event of an invasion by the Russian army, which has historically committed war crimes on a massive scale. Russia wants a tactical pause and calls for negotiations while continuing to commit war crimes in Ukraine: dialogue with the Kremlin is meaningless and must be stopped.

Putin has brought untold misery to the Ukrainian people, but Russian society, exalted by propaganda, supports the war and wants to destroy not only Ukraine but also Europe. Putin has indoctrinated Russians that the civilising West is Russia's enemy, so it must be critically weakened, then eliminated. Putin is using all Russian resources to continue the war, which in his mind should come to EU territory - this should be the peculiar outcome of his rule and mark Russia's victory at any cost, even if all Russian men have to be exterminated.

The catastrophic nature of the scenario described is compounded by the fact that the Kremlin has left the West no other way to counter the war than by supplying arms to Ukraine, which has taken the first blow of the Russian war machine. Ukraine must hold out: it is the key to the survival of Western civilisation, and the sooner the Armed Forces receive all the weapons they need, the sooner the threat of Russian territorial expansion, which could lead to a tragedy of planetary proportions, will be eliminated in Europe.