UN: Russia Aerial Attacks against Ukraine are Crimes Against Humanity

Russia has committed crimes against humanity by deliberately targeting civilians with drones in Ukraine’s Kherson Oblast, according to a new report by the United Nation’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine.

The commission concluded that the drone attacks, which began in July 2024, were widespread, systematic, and part of a coordinated state policy to terrorize the population and forcibly depopulate the area. The findings were based on more than 300 videos, over 600 Telegram posts, and 91 interviews with victims, witnesses, and local officials.

“The individual drone attacks amount to the war crimes of intentionally directing attacks against civilians. The recurrence of these attacks for over 10 months, against multiple civilian targets and in a wide geographic area, demonstrates that they are widespread and systematic and have been planned and organized, requiring the mobilization and allocation of necessary resources. These and other elements led the Commission to conclude that Russian armed forces carried out drone attacks targeting civilians pursuant to an organizational policy and committed murder as a crime against humanity,” the commission said in the report published on May 28.

“The Commission further found that Russian armed forces and those supporting them have committed acts or threats of violence for the primary purpose to spread terror among the civilian population in the targeted areas of Kherson Province, in violation of international humanitarian law. The nature and broad range of the attacks, their specific civilian targets, their frequency, intensity, geographic spread, the circumstances in which they occur, have led to pervasive fear within the population.”

Nearly 150 civilians have been killed and hundreds more wounded in drone strikes on Kherson city and 16 surrounding localities. Victims include men, women, and children, with many struck while going about their daily routines. Ambulances, which are protected under international law, have also been targeted, resulting in additional casualties.

European leaders have concurred that “the massive air strikes, particularly on the city of Kyiv over the weekend, do not speak the language of peace, but rather the language of a war of aggression,” calling it, “a slap in the face of all those who are trying to bring about a ceasefire in Ukraine itself, but also in Europe and the USA.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of stalling peace talks and said Moscow did not want to halt its three-year invasion, adding that “they will constantly look for reasons not to end the war.”

Russia Hits Ukraine with Largest Drone Attack; Trump Policy Mocked and Deemed Failure

Living up to its reputation of conducting heinous missions to destroy Ukraine, kill Ukrainians and subjugate the survivors while feigning interest in negotiations and peace, Russia launched the largest aerial attack against Ukrainians since the latest phase of the Moscow’s aggression began three years ago.

Following a week in which Moscow had already struck several Ukrainian cities, Russia launched on May 24 more than 360 drones against nearly a dozen civilian targets, mostly residential neighborhoods, killing 18 people, including three children, and wounding scores.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pointed to Washington’s reluctance to take a stronger stance against Russia’s murderous behavior as the reason for the attack. Others have opined that Russia’s dictator Vladimir Putin is mocking the United States and President Trump by continuing the bombardment of Ukraine. This continuance is proof that Trump’s policy regarding Ukraine has failed, they said.

Russia stepped up missile-and-drone assaults on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and other regions, killing at least 18 people overnight into Sunday, May 25, after President Trump last week declined to impose further sanctions on Moscow over its refusal to halt its invasion.

Russia attacked with drones and missiles – one of the largest single-night raids of the war, according to the Ukrainian Air Force – in a second consecutive day of pounding strikes that sent civilians running for shelters in the middle of the night. Officials said that children were among those killed by the strikes and that a further 60 were injured and more than 80 residential buildings damaged across the country, even as more than 300 of the missiles and drones were shot down.

According to Ukrainian officials, Russians attacked the cities of Kyiv, Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytsky, Ternopil, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Sumy, Poltava regions.

In Ternopil, a western city less frequently targeted by Russian attacks, a Kalibr cruise missile struck an industrial facility and caused a fire, according to Governor Viacheslav Nehoda. Eye witnesses said fortunately the strike came at night thus eliminating human casualties.

Zelenskyy called for more economic sanctions against Russia to force it to stop its invasion, which Putin has refused to do despite Trump’s entreaties.

“Russia is dragging out this war and is continuing to kill on a daily basis,” Zelenskyy said on social media. “It can’t be ignored. The silence of America, the silence of others in the world, only encourages Putin.”

The attacks came in the midst of a massive POW exchange between Ukraine and Russia totaling some 1,000 soldiers.

The scale of Russia’s use of aerial weapons aside, the attacks over the past 48 hours have been among the most intense strikes on Ukraine since the February 2022 invasion. For Kyiv, the day was particularly somber as the city observes Kyiv Day, a national holiday that falls on the last Sunday of May commemorating its founding in the fifth century, making it centuries older than Moscow.

In Markhalivka, just outside Kyiv where several village homes were burned down, local residents watched their ruined home in tears. They liked their losses to images from Bakhmut and Mariupol.

Western officials renewed calls for tougher sanctions on Russia after the large-scale missile and drone attack hit Kyiv, which injured over a dozen civilians and damaged multiple residential buildings.

Moldovan President Maia Sandu has condemned a large-scale Russian attack on Ukrainian cities and villages, stating that such actions do not reflect the behavior of a country seeking peace.

“367 drones and missiles. At least 12 dead. Dozens injured. This is not the behavior of a country seeking peace – it’s a deliberate escalation and a brutal attack on innocent lives. Moldova stands with Ukraine. The world must respond with massive support for Ukraine,” Sandu said.

Kaja Kallas, high representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, called for the “strongest international pressure” on Russia after the latest large-scale attack.

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna wrote on X: “Russia’s continued aggression has a simple explanation: it hasn’t faced enough pressure to stop. The power to change that lies with us.” He called for increased military aid, tougher sanctions, and actions targeting Russia’s shadow oil fleet and frozen assets.

EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Mathernova described the assault as "another horrific missile and drone attack," noting that areas where her colleagues live had been struck. "If anyone still doubts Russia wants war to continue — read the news," she wrote.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen observed that Russia’s recent attacks on Ukraine prove that Moscow has no interest in peace. “During the day Putin talks about negotiations, then he bombs Ukraine during the night,” Frederiksen added.

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha condemned the attack and called on the international community to further pressure Russia for a ceasefire.

“When the entire world calls for an end to the killing, Putin orders even more strikes, attacks, and murders of children. This once again emphasizes the imperative of a full, unconditional, and durable ceasefire for any meaningful peace effort,” Sybiha wrote on X. “The world must pressure Russia to accept it and put an end to the killings immediately.”

In response to the latest Russian attacks, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) released a statement “deploring” the deadly new wave of attacks.

“With at least 78 people reported killed or injured across the country, last night’s attack tragically demonstrates the persistent deadly risk to civilians of using powerful weapons in urban areas, including those far away from the frontline,” said Danielle Bell, Head of HRMMU.

“It is yet another addition to the staggering human toll this war continues to inflict on civilians, with more families across the country now grieving their losses.”

The Armed Forces Operational Command in Poland –  a NATO nation that borders Ukraine to the west –  said in a Sunday morning post to X that its fighter jets were scrambled during the Russian attack. “Intensive activity of long-range aviation of the Russian Federation has been observed, associated with strikes carried out on objects located, among others, in the western territory of Ukraine,” the statement said.

But, after two days of intense Russian air raids that hit civilian buildings across Ukraine, there has been an only a meager response from Donald Trump. He told reporters that he doesn’t like what Putin is doing to Ukraine and that the Russian dictator is acting “crazy.”

“I’m not happy with Putin. I don’t know what's wrong with him. What the hell happened to him?” Trump said.

Congressman Don Bacon (R-NE), a moderate member of the House of Representatives, rejected the idea of peace talks with Russia following Moscow’s large-scale weekend attacks on Ukraine and called for decisive action.

Bacon, known for his pro-Ukraine stance, said, “It is a time for honesty. Peace talks are having zero effect on Putin.” He stated that the Kremlin is continuing its aggression with the aim of subjugating Ukraine and will not stop until it encounters firm resistance.

“His [Putin's – ed.] goal is to dominate Ukraine & he won’t stop until he realizes he cannot win,” the congressman added.

He urged the United States and its allies to act resolutely: “The U.S. and its allies must arm Ukraine to the teeth, sanction Russia to the max and confiscate the $300 billion in overseas Russian assets.”