Ukrainian American Group Condemns Russian Attack; Seeks US, Western Defense Support 

The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA) unequivocally condemns russia’s latest mass missile and drone assault against Ukraine, one of the largest attacks of the war, which once again targeted civilian communities, homes, energy infrastructure, and essential public services.

Overnight, russia launched hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles against cities and regions across Ukraine, including Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia, Poltava, Sumy, Chernihiv, and Khmelnytskyi. Residential buildings were destroyed, critical infrastructure was damaged, and innocent civilians—including children—were killed and injured. These attacks are not isolated incidents; they form part of a sustained campaign of terror directed against the Ukrainian people.

We mourn the lives lost, extend our deepest condolences to the families of the victims, and stand in solidarity with those recovering from their injuries and with the emergency responders risking their lives to save others amid the devastation.

russia’s deliberate and systematic attacks on civilian populations, homes, hospitals, schools, and energy systems demonstrate a continued disregard for international humanitarian law and fundamental human rights. These actions further reinforce the growing body of evidence that russia’s war against Ukraine is not merely a war of territorial conquest, but a genocidal campaign aimed at destroying Ukraine’s sovereignty, identity, and people.

UCCA calls upon the United States government, our international partners, and democratic nations around the world to strengthen support for Ukraine’s defense, including the provision of advanced air defense systems and the resources necessary to protect civilians from ongoing missile and drone attacks. We further urge the United States and its allies to strengthen and rigorously enforce sanctions against the russian federation, close sanctions-evasion loopholes, and increase economic pressure on those who continue to enable russia’s illegal war. We also urge continued efforts to hold russian political and military leaders accountable for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during this war.

As Ukraine endures another brutal assault, UCCA reaffirms its unwavering support for the Ukrainian people in their struggle for freedom, democracy, human dignity, and national self-determination—principles that reflect the shared democratic values upon which free and secure societies are built/depend/OR/principles that reflect the shared democratic values that are fundamental to free, secure, and prosperous societies.

UN Adds Russia to ‘List of Shame’ for Sexual Violence against Ukrainians 

The United Nations late last month has for the first time added Russia and Israel to its annual blacklist of parties responsible for conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV).

While the UN has in the past listed Russia as an aggressor state for invading Ukraine and even listed Fuhrer Putin as a perpetrator of crimes against humanity for stealing Ukrainian children, this is Russia’s first ignominious designation as a party responsible for sexual violence during wartime.

Despite limited access for international investigators, the UN has reported 310 verified cases of conflict-related sexual violence against prisoners of war and civilian detainees in Russia and Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine. Most of the victims were men, according to The Washington Post.

Oleksii Sivak, founder of Alumni, anNGO which supports male survivors of torture, told Ukrainska Pravda. Zhyttia (Life): "We did it. I heard so often that it was impossible, but there were people who believed in us and made every effort to make the impossible possible.

For the state, this is a major mechanism for fighting Russia in international forums. But this is only the first step towards real justice and holding perpetrators accountable."

The Alumni network has been advocating for this decision since late 2024 together with other organisations representing former prisoners and torture survivors, including SEMA Ukraine, 29 December, and Numo, Sestry!

The report also states that Ukrainian human rights groups have documented at least 31 cases of sexual violence against prisoners of war and civilian detainees. However, the actual number of such crimes is believed to be significantly higher.

Russia’s UN ambassador Vasily Nebenzya, as is generally expected, denied the allegations of CRSV saying they are “groundless lies that once again portray Russia as a villain.”

Indeed, throughout its history, Russia could only be portrayed as the villain in all domestic and external matters based on arrests of dissidents and mass murder such as the Holodomor.

Overall, the 35-page UN report documents cases of sexual violence in more than ten countries around the world. It lists 77 state and non-state actors responsible for such crimes.

Israel has also been added to the blacklist for the first time due to sexual violence committed against Palestinians between 2023 and 2025.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said the decision reflects the UN's “longstanding institutional hostility towards Israel”

UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned both Israel and Russia back in 2024 that they could be added to the list because of documented violations.

In addition to the Israeli and Russian cutthroats the list also includes Hamas militants, who were added following the bloody attack on Israel.

According to the UN, the number of CRSV cases worldwide has increased 87 percent over the past two years.

At the end of 2024, Ukrainian survivors of wartime sexual violence sent a collect letter to Guterres urging him to add Russia to the so-called list of shame, one of the mechanisms for holding states accountable for such crimes.

Massive Russian Attack against Ukraine Kills 22 Civilians
You can always expect Russians to fulfill their promises - especially when it pertains to launching massive, deadly drone attacks against civilian targets across Ukraine.
After weeks of promising another round of airborne strikes against Ukrainian cities, as well as warnings by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russian drones and missiles finally flew precisely toward their targets. The capital of Kyiv was especially hit the hardest.
This attack was reported by a host of Ukrainian and non-Ukrainian news media, including the key broadcasters in the US and the West.
Even though it was anticipated, Ukraine’s allies and supporters did very little to stave off the attack.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attack constituted “a completely transparent statement from Russia: if Ukraine is not protected from ballistic and other missile strikes, these attacks will continue.”
Russia launched at least 656 drones and 73 missiles at Ukraine Monday night and into Tuesday morning, June 1-2, Ukraine’s Air Force said. Forty of the missiles and 602 drones were downed or neutralized, but 38 sites were hit, with Kyiv the main target, the Air Force elaborated.
Ukraine’s Air Force reported that Russian forces launched Kalibr cruise missiles toward Ukraine from the Caspian Sea. The straight-line (air) distance from the closest northwestern shores of the Caspian Sea to Kyiv is approximately 700-900 kilometers.
Russia launched a massive combined missile and drone attack across Ukraine in the early hours of Tuesday, killing at least 21 people and injuring over 100 others. Kyiv reported 6 killed and 79 injured, including 3 children, while Dnipro reported 15 killed, including 2 children, and at least 37 wounded. Kharkiv and the Kyiv region were also hit, with fires, damaged residential buildings, and power outages reported across multiple areas.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said in a post to Telegram that the most significant damage was wrought in Kyiv, Dnipro, and Kharkiv regions. At least six people were killed in Kyiv, and 11 people -- including a child -- were killed in Dnipro, local Ukrainian officials said.
“The main strike was on Kyiv, where dozens of residential buildings and other purely civilian infrastructure were damaged again,” Zelenskyy said.
Rescuers searching through the rubble of apartment buildings in the central city of Dnipro, where 16 people were killed, recovered the bodies of an eight-year-old boy and three women, regional head Oleksandr Hanzha said, adding that another child had been killed in the blast.
The attack “essentially demolished” part of the building, Zelenskyy wrote on X.
More than 90 people were injured across both cities, while Kharkiv in the northeast - which also saw its energy facilities and civilian infrastructure hit - reported 10 injured, including a child.
An industrial facility was also attacked further south in Zaporizhzhia as regions across the country were targeted, the president said.
For its part, Russia’s military admitted that it carried out a massive strike on targets in Ukraine with hypersonic missiles among the munitions. However, Moscow exonerated itself, as it always does, by claiming that it targeted Ukraine’s military-industrial complex, but residential buildings in several locations were impacted. The explanation does not reflect the truth based on what eyewitnesses on the ground reported. In one location, an entire apartment building was brought down by the bombardment.
At least nine people were killed in an attack on the southern industrial city of Dnipro, including one child, when a four-story apartment building collapsed, Zelenskyy said. The president said several people were still unaccounted for under the rubble.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said four people were killed and at least 58, including two children, were wounded in the mass Russian attack on the capital.
The buzz of drones could be heard between more than a dozen loud explosions as strikes made impact through the early morning.
The attack caused fires near a petrol station, a construction site, and several apartment blocks, as well as two houses, Klitschko said. Blackouts were also reported across the city.
The attack on Kyiv cut electricity to 140,000 residents, power company DTEK told Reuters, but utility workers restored power to 110,000 residents, DTEK added. More than 41,000 people - including almost 4,500 children - were sheltering underground in the Kyiv subway overnight, the metro company said in a statement. It added that this was a record number in recent years.
Ten people, including a child, were wounded in the city of Kharkiv, according to Mayor Ihor Terekhov.
Ukraine’s foreign minister said Tuesday that Russia’s strikes on Kyiv and other cities show that Russian führer Putin is running out of military options in his years-long invasion of Ukraine.
“Putin is a war criminal and a loser who has no cards except terror. Moscow is losing on the battlefield. No number of missiles can change this,” Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said in a statement on social media.
Ruslan Stefanchuk, the chairman of the Ukrainian parliament, said in a post to X that the most serious damage in Kyiv was reported in the Podilskyi district, where a Russian strike collapsed a nine-story residential building. “People may still be trapped under the rubble,” Stefanchuk wrote.
Sybiha said in a post to X that Russia’s latest “horrific attack” showed that Putin "is a war criminal and loser who has no cards except terror."
This extreme classification should make all Western leaders ponder their next steps with regard to Russia’s more than four-year war against Ukraine. President Donald Trump should also forgo his tempered remarks against Putin and Russia.
The Ukrainian president has reiterated his call to allies to allow and finance the supply of Patriot missiles, which can intercept Russian ballistic missiles.
He wrote to President Trump and Congress last week, asking for Patriot systems to respond to the intensifying Russian air attacks.
On Tuesday, Zelenskyy called on Europe to develop its own air defense systems and urged more support from Washington after Russia's latest deadly drone and missile barrage.
“Europe needs its own anti-ballistic defence so that this war can finally be brought to an end. And assistance from the United States in supplying missiles for Patriot systems is absolutely necessary,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media.  
Ukraine, in the meantime, has stepped up its strikes on occupied territories and on Russia in retaliation for the daily Russian bombardments.
Russia launched a record 8,150 long-range drones against Ukraine in May, an AFP analysis of Ukrainian air force data showed, up 24% from April. Kyiv intercepted about 90% of the incoming drones and missiles in May, according to air force data.
“We urgently need help from the United States in supplying missiles for Patriot systems,” Zelenskyy said, referring to interception hardware used to intercept Russian missiles.
Patriot missiles have been in short supply, exacerbated by the US and Israeli war against Iran.
“Europe needs its own anti-ballistic defense so that this war can finally end. And we urgently need help from the United States in supplying missiles for the Patriot systems. We count on the support of our partners and on effective responses to today's attack," the president wrote in a post to social media.
Since returning to power last year, Trump has also stopped direct supplies to Ukraine, so Kyiv’s European allies have been filling the gap by buying them from the U.S. before sending them to Ukraine.
 
On a Positive Note: Payback for Bucha
Russia’s war against Ukraine began four years ago with the Russian cutthroats bloody massacre of civilians in Bucha, a town on the invading road. As they say, payback is a bitch.
Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) struck the training grounds and military camps of Russia’s 3rd and 36th Combined Arms Armies in an overnight drone operation on May 30, USF Commander Robert “Magyar” Brovdi reported. According to reports from people in the know in Ukraine, Putin fears Brovdi more than he does the devil.
The attack also struck the positions of Russia’s 64th Separate Motorized Rifle brigade, one of the units responsible for the massacre of Ukrainian civilians in Bucha during the early days of the full-scale invasion.
Ukrainian drone pilots carried out a “middle strike” against Russian military positions overnight, hitting the 3rd Army “Trokhizbenka” training grounds in occupied Luhansk Oblast and 36th Army “Prymorskyi Posad” training grounds in occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Brovdi said. The latter camp was also used by the 64th brigade.
The military confirmed 21 total hits (13 and 8 at each target, respectively), Brovdi said.

Zelenskyy: Russia Teaches Stolen Ukrainian Children to Hate Ukraine

In a wide-ranging but brief interview today with Margaret Brennan of CBS “Face The Nation,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine expressed his fear that the more than 20,000 Ukrainian children that been stolen by Russia will be indoctrinated into hating Ukraine and even killing Ukrainians as they’re being prepared to join the Russian cutthroats and fight Ukrainians.

Both points constitute a violation of the child’s human rights, according to the United Nations.

After talking about Ukraine’s weapons’ needs, negotiations, European support, Washington’s backing and commercial military developments, Brennan asked Zelenskyy about Yale University’s claim of at least six Russian reeducation camps. She clarified her question by adding that “Russian oil and gas companies are assisting with this state-sponsored kidnapping program. Has the US lifting these sanctions basically helped fund kidnapping Ukrainian kids? Is that what's happening?”

Zelenskyy replied that he does not fully agree with that assertion, according to the transcript. He said “lifting sanctions is a help for the soldiers of Russia. It's very helpful for their defense industry.”

However, he continued, lifting or maintaining sanctions are about finding a dialogue with Russians. “But it's not correct dialogue. Why? Because Russians don't understand words, they don't understand – I think they don't understand emotions, because they think that this weak position, that’s why we need to be strong and put sanctions on them.”

As for “state-sponsored kidnapping” of Ukrainian children, which actually is theft of children because there is no implied expectation of Russia ever returning them, Zelenskyy said, “They really stolen thousands of Ukrainian children. We know about 20,000, we know, but maybe it's more, but we identify 20,000, we know the names. And we could bring back, by the way, thanks to leaders to different countries, and by the way, Middle East partners, and the First Ladies of Ukraine and of the United States, they also help with it.”

However, continued Zelenskyy, Ukrainian officials brought back during all these years only 2,200 some 10% the number of the children that the Ukrainian government knows about.

“So, but I think that thousands of children we didn't identify until now, so this is a big problem. I don't see how Russians are ready to give us back these children. This is a difficult way how we do this. So they proposed us to exchange children with soldiers. Can you imagine, how we can exchange our children? We can't- first of all, it's out of the law. We can't exchange civilians. You can give back civilians. And how you can exchange- yes, it's important to get back our warriors, war prisoners- war prisoners, but we can't exchange them on the children. But the fact that Russia proposed to exchange children, this is the answer, that they stolen children. And I hope that Congress will find – find the possibility again to put sanctions on Russians, because of the children.

Brennan repeated her question about Washington’s help in bring back the stolen Ukrainian children, to which Zelenskyy replied: “We need more help. We need more help. We need thousands children- to get them back. You know that we lose time. Why? Because there are, you know, such very bad examples, awful examples. When these children grow up and they push these boys to the battlefield.”

This assertion further perplexed Brennan into repeating herself and goading Zelenskyy to substantiate his claim: “Yes, we have evidence of it. Yes, and they, they teach- they taught these children to hate their native country, to hate native people. And Ukrainians, can you imagine, such young Ukrainians, young boys, come to the battlefield and kill- kill Ukrainians. So, I mean, this is- this is a practical way of disinformation of Russia. How they use all the instruments to kill Ukraine and Ukrainians, and how to use children. And also they want- there is one of the rule, how they divide families. They divide families, I mean, the brother, they moved- brother and sister, for example, boy and girl, they divide them and move to different families. This is, I mean, and there are hundreds examples of such – of such steps of Russia. That's why we can't lose time. We need to bring back children as quick as possible, and of course we need – we need the help of all the world. We need help of the United States of America.”

In addition to all of Russia’s other crimes against Ukrainians, the one that pertains to children is most blatant and painful. Russians must also be held accountable for this violation. 

Nobody is Safe from Russian Drone Attacks

Like countless other parents around the world, you allow your kids to play with their friends at the local playground.

And then you hear the high-pitched whine of a drone, the explosion, the calamitous settling of debris and dust, and then the hysterical screams and cries of the survivors. As you run to the playground, you pray that the screams aren’t your child’s.

This terror is not unique for Ukrainians as the nation fights off Russian invaders. Very often, the aggressor targets non-military, civilian locations.

Russian forces struck a children’s playground in the Korabelnyi district of Kherson yesterday, May 27, injuring a mother and her two young daughters and killing the father of the family.

"A children's playground in the Korabelnyi district was apparently deemed a 'military target'... It was next to it that Russian terrorists launched a devastating strike today. An entire family has been affected by this cynical attack – a mother with her two young daughters aged three and six. The father has most likely been killed," reported Yaroslav Shanko, head of Kherson City Military Administration.

Since the start of the Russian full-scale war against Ukraine, the invaders have regularly absolved themselves of immoral collateral damage by claiming that the target was a military facility.

The injured included a 36-year-old woman and her two daughters, ages 3 and 6, local officials said. The girls' father was also killed in the attack, police later confirmed.

The strike occurred around 5:30 p.m. local time in the Korabelnyi district, where Russian forces fired multiple-launch rocket systems at a playground where families had gathered, according to Shanko.

The mother and her daughters suffered blast injuries and multiple shrapnel wounds and were receiving medical treatment, he said. A 50-year-old man was also injured.

Kherson is a port city in southern Ukraine that serves as the administrative centre of Kherson Oblast. Located by the Black Sea and on the Dnipro River, it is the home to a major ship-building industry and is a regional economic center.

Located near the front line in southern Ukraine, the city has faced frequent Russian attacks since Ukrainian forces retook the city in November 2022.

Russian drone attacks have intensified, with Russian drone operators deliberately targeting civilians in what has become cynically known as a “human safari.”

Putin OKs Protecting Russians anywhere around the World

Russian Führer Vladimir Putin signed on May 25 a bill that effectively authorizes him to invade foreign countries under the guise of “protecting Russian citizens” abroad, according to the Kyiv Independent.

The legislation, passed by Russia’s State Duma on May 13, enables the Russian president to order troop deployments abroad to “protect” Russian citizens facing arrest, detention, trial, or other perceived persecution by foreign nations and international courts.

The news comes amid growing warnings by Western officials that Russia may launch an attack against NATO in the coming years, a scenario seen as increasingly realistic since the latest Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Russian lawmakers have framed the legislation as part of their effort to “counter the campaign of rampant Russophobia that continues abroad.”

Andrey Kartapolov, head of the State Duma Defense Committee, linked the bill to the case of Alexander Butyagin, a Russian archaeologist who was detained in Poland for several months over illegal excavations in Russian-occupied Crimea.

Moscow has repeatedly threatened its neighbors under the pretext of protecting Russians living abroad. Russians have used this as justification for its latest wave of aggression against Ukraine since 2014.

Moscow’s legislation is similar to the one that Nazi Germany used during its reign. It stipulated the following:

Volksdeutsche (Ethnic Germans): These were ethnic Germans living outside the borders of the German Reich (e.g., in Czechoslovakia, Poland, and the Soviet Union). Hitler argued that because they shared “German blood,” they were entitled to protection and unification with the Fatherland.

Reichsdeutsche (Reich Germans): These were legally citizens of the German Reich living within the country’s borders.

The Pretext of Protection: Hitler often claimed Germany was acting in self-defense to protect oppressed Volksdeutsche in neighboring countries. In reality, these grievances were manufactured, serving as political leverage to annex territories (like the Sudetenland in 1938) and eventually launch World War II.

Volksliste (Registry): In occupied territories such as Poland, the Nazi regime compiled specific lists known as the Deutsche Volksliste to categorize and register ethnic Germans. This was used to grant them superior legal status, integrate them into the Reich, and force them to collaborate in Nazi war efforts.

The Nazis declared: Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Führer: This was one of the central propaganda slogans used during Hitler's regime, translating to “One People, One Nation, One Leader,” which mirrors Russian practices. It was also taken advantage of in 1938 during the Anschluss (the annexation of Austria) to promote the vision of a single, unified, and expansive German empire. Moscow also annexed Ukraine’s Crimean on the same basis.

Furthermore, the Brezhnev Doctrine declared by Leonid Brezhnev was a Kremlin foreign policy proclaimed in 1968 which asserted that the Soviet Union had the right to intervene—including militarily—in any socialist country where Communist Party rule and Soviet alignment were under threat. Effectively declaring that the sovereignty of Eastern Bloc nations was limited, the doctrine mandated that the preservation of socialism in one country was the collective responsibility of all communist states.

Its core principles were:

Limited Sovereignty: Individual socialist countries did not have the right to alter their political trajectory if it harmed the broader communist community.

Class-Based Law: Moscow argued that standard international laws of sovereignty were subordinate to the laws of class struggle and the preservation of global socialism.

Collective Duty: National communist parties were deemed responsible not only to their own citizens but also to the entire international communist.

As for dictators, Russian or Nazi, they can’t escape the truth about their imperial designs. 

If Someone Threatens to Kill You, It’s Safer to Believe Him
“Destroying evil, destroying an enemy before it returns to kill you, your family, your children is universally tolerated and acceptable.”
That was the conclusion of my blog of May 24, 2026. Russia ultimately launched what was considered one of its largest drone and IRBM attacks against Ukraine, striking mostly civilian targets in Kyiv and other cities.
Today, Russia, which apparently is still alive and well, repeated the true nature of its heinous intentions and again warned Kyiv and the international community that it would unleash another massive air assault against Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov revealed to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio Moscow’s plans. A message from Russian führer Putin to President Donald J. Trump said that Ukraine should expect another massive airborne assault within a short period of time, according to a host of news media.
Lavrov told the US  diplomat to evacuate its diplomats from its embassy in Kyiv during a phone call with the American diplomat on Monday, May 25.
The statement came after Russia warned of “systematic strikes” against Kyiv in the coming days following the latest major barrage over the weekend.
“On May 25, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio,” Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement, according to the French AFP.
“Sergei Lavrov drew attention to a Russian Foreign Ministry statement from May 25, which recommended that the United States, along with other states with missions in Kyiv, ensure the evacuation of their diplomatic personnel and other citizens from the Ukrainian capital,” it added.
Moscow said Russian forces would target Ukrainian defense industry sites involved in the design, production, programming, and deployment of drones, however, oftentimes those targets are non-military civilian sites.
The so-called official communique stated: “On the instructions of President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, Sergei Lavrov officially conveyed to the American side information that, in response to the ongoing terrorist attacks by the Kyiv regime against civilians and civilian facilities on Russian territory, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are beginning systematic and consistent strikes on facilities in Kyiv used for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as on the centers where the relevant decisions are made.”
Following the call, Rubio said he relayed Lavrov’s message to Trump.
“I spoke to him yesterday about that and a couple of other topics, and obviously, Putin had asked him to call me to relay the message directly to the President, which I did,” Rubio told reporters.
“Kyiv has been a dangerous place for a number of years. The danger in all these wars, as they continue and go on, is that they always carry the threat of escalation... of spreading into something new.”
However, European leaders and diplomats signaled they would remain in Kyiv despite Moscow's warnings, rejecting what they described as an attempt to intimidate and isolate Ukraine.
Katarina Mathernova, the European Union's ambassador to Ukraine, said the bloc “is not going anywhere.”
“We stay in Kyiv,” Mathernova stated on X. “We stay with Ukraine.”
After the Memorial Day hiatus, US Ambassador to Ukraine Julie Davis condemned Russia’s latest large-scale attack on Kyiv after visiting damaged sites in the Ukrainian capital on Monday, May 25.
In a statement published by the Embassy in Ukraine on X, Davis said Russia’s overnight attack on May 24 targeted museums, metro infrastructure, residential buildings and other civilian sites across the Kyiv region.
“Today I saw some of the consequences of this attack with my own eyes,” Davis said.
“Deliberate strikes against civilians and civilian infrastructure are unacceptable.”
The ambassador added that the United States extends its condolences to everyone affected by the attack.
“We express our deepest sympathies to all those affected by this terrible tragedy,” Davis said.
Meanwhile, Russia continues with smaller attacks against Ukrainian civilians. “At around 23:50, Russian forces attacked the settlement of Andriivka in the Izium district with drones, injuring three people and damaging residential buildings and other buildings,” local officials said.
“A 77-year-old man and a 74-year-old woman sustained injuries, while a 48-year-old woman was suffering from shock.
“At around midnight, a Russian drone struck the canopy of a petrol station in Chuhuiv, injuring a 54-year-old employee. A fire also broke out at the site, damaging the building, equipment, and vehicles.”
Russia also carried out an airstrike on the center of Kramatorsk in Donetsk Oblast on May 25, injuring at least 12 civilians, regional authorities reported.
The strike hit areas near apartment buildings in the city center, causing damage to residential infrastructure. The full extent of the destruction is still being assessed.
Russian forces dropped two FAB-250 aerial bombs on the city at around 5:52 pm local time, according to Mayor Oleksandr Honcharenko.
"This was the third large-scale attack on Kramatorsk within a single day," Honcharenko said, adding that emergency services, rescue teams, and medics were working at the scene.
A combined Russian missile-and-drone attack hit Odesa region today, killing one person and injuring four others. Officials said the strike damaged an infrastructure facility, a school, and nearby residential buildings.
In the past, President Trump has blamed Ukraine for the intensification of Russian attacks against its cities and infrastructures, which is tantamount to blaming the rape victim for being raped. Today, Trump, who has been informed of Putin’s plans, is faced with an identical situation: Will he make flippant and insulting comments about Ukraine, or will he stand strong in supporting Ukraine by following in the footsteps of Gen. Curtis LeMay and “bomb them (Russia) back to the Stone Age.” 

Russia Uses 695 Forms of Torture against Ukrainian POWs; 406 Killed

It is understood that the United Nations Convention against Torture would and does prohibit all acts that intentionally inflict severe physical or mental suffering on detainees.

The international body, based on medical and human rights research, categorizes torture into two primary methods encompassing dozens of specific techniques: Physical Torture: Includes beatings and blunt-force trauma (the most frequently reported method globally), electrical torture, starvation, prolonged stress positions, suffocation (e.g., “waterboarding”), and sexual violence.

Psychological Torture: Includes sensory deprivation or overload, prolonged sleep deprivation, mock executions, solitary confinement, and intense threats of violence or death.

Tomás de Torquemada, the legendary Spanish grand inquisitor, would have been proud of his Russian descendants, who developed 695 forms of torture that they use against Ukrainian POWs.

Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, has reported that Russia is using 695 different forms of torture against Ukrainian prisoners of war. Depraved Russians have already tortured 406 Ukrainian captives to death. The figures testify to the fact that the free world’s response has been lackadaisical.

Speaking at a presentation of the “Made in Russia. Delivered into Captivity” project, as cited by Ukrinform, Lubinets described the blood-curdling methods used by Russians to coerce Ukrainian POWs to reveal information or just to be frivolous targets of inhuman, brutal abuse.

“Today, within this project, we officially record that, according to our data, the Russian Federation uses 695 various forms of torture, including physical and psychological abuse, as well as sexual violence. Prisoners of war are strangled, beaten, subjected to electric shocks, set upon by dogs and sometimes forced to stand in one place for up to 18 hours; as soon as you start to squat, you are immediately physically beaten,” he said.

“One of the types of torture is the so-called ‘hairdresser,’ when during shaving they deliberately cut off not only hair but also pieces of skin from the scalp. If a person starts screaming, they are immediately beaten again and subjected to electric shocks."

United Nations bodies, Ukrainian human rights organizations, and Human Rights Watch have interviewed hundreds of former POWs, and the evidence indicates that their physical and psychological torture is a widespread pattern intended to break prisoners’ sense of self and human dignity. Russia is holding thousands of Ukrainian POWs in atrocious conditions, deprived of adequate food, medical care, and basic hygiene. 

“Russian authorities’ abhorrent systematic torture of Ukrainian prisoners of war is a serious violation of core protections under international humanitarian law,” said Holly Carter, deputy program director at Human Rights Watch. “POWs face daily life-threatening ordeals in Russian custody, and all those responsible for these atrocities should be held to account.”

Lubinets noted that poor detention conditions and torture are systematic with regard to Ukrainian prisoners of war. This includes unsanitary conditions and starvation used as a method of coercion. In total, 860 cases of improper detention conditions have been recorded.

Lubinets also noted that international partners have identified 29 detention sites, 18 on the territory of Russia and 11 in temporarily occupied areas of Ukraine. Meanwhile, he said, Ukrainian intelligence agencies have verified 186 locations where Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian hostages are held, covering the entire territory of Russia and the temporarily occupied territories. In addition, detention facilities are located in Siberia. According to Lubinets, conditions in these places are almost identical and unsuitable for the civilized detention of prisoners.

The Ukrainian official also stated that Russian prison guards tortured to death 406 Ukrainian citizens who had confirmed prisoner-of-war status.

He stressed that the weak international response to the documented systematic torture signals to Russia that it can continue such actions with impunity. In particular, Lubinets criticized the position of the International Committee of the Red Cross: their representatives were invited to the event, but none attended.

“We sent them separate invitations. They are not in the hall. They do not want to once again hear that there is a problem with the fulfillment of their mandate. There is. We understand that first and foremost this is the position of the Russian Federation. But what additional steps are you taking to change this position? What? Just negotiations? They may yield results, but certainly not the ones we expect. As for the prisoners of war among the defenders of Mariupol: Olenivka – everyone knows that the Russians did it. Fifty-three men, verified by the ICRC as prisoners of war, were killed, more than 130 were injured. Where is the response? There is none. And there will be none unless we all understand that we must apply pressure now, demand accountability, and do everything to ensure that every representative of the Russian Federation is brought to justice,” Lubinets said.

Russian authorities allow only arbitrary and infrequent communication between POWs and their families, in some instances restricting it entirely. Families of POWs often did not know their whereabouts, or only found out by accident, often through Russian propaganda videos. 

Russia has systematically refused to grant international monitors access to Ukrainian POWs, preventing independent scrutiny of their conditions and treatment.

Torture of any kind against detainees—POW, civilian or otherwise—is strictly prohibited under international law and may constitute a crime against humanity. In October 2024, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine (COI) concluded that the Russian authorities in their actions against Ukrainian civilians in custody and POWs, “have acted pursuant to a coordinated state policy and have therefore committed crimes against humanity of torture.”

The Russian government should immediately end the use of torture and the ill-treatment of all Ukrainian detainees, release all unlawfully held Ukrainian civilians; and grant the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and independent human rights monitors immediate, unrestricted access to all detention sites holding Ukrainian POWs and civilians. Russian forces and authorities responsible for ordering, committing, or failing to prevent torture and ill-treatment should be investigated and prosecuted, the COI stated.

Next time you are about to shake hands with a Russian official or business partner, check for blood stains on their hands.

Russia’s Bombing of Kyiv Defies Morality and Its Desire for Peace

Russia’s ravenous desire to destroy Ukraine and annihilate all Ukrainians continues unabated. In the early morning hours of May 24 (local time), Russian cutthroat invaders launched nearly 90 Oreshnik-type IRBMs and upwards of 600 drones, according to Ukrainian and non-Ukrainian news media.

The missiles were air, sea, and ground-launched rockets, Ukraine’s Air Force clarified. Ukrainian air defenses destroyed and jammed 549 drones and 55 missiles. Some 19 missiles failed to reach targets, the Air Force said.

Oreshnik missiles are equipped with six conventional or nuclear-capable warheads, each capable of deploying multiple submunitions.

Local residents, including our contacts, described the latest wave of Russian bombings as a hellish night of terror with unceasing explosions heard throughout the Kyiv oblast. It was one of the most massive attacks against civilian targets such as residential buildings and civil infrastructures, perpetrated by a deranged enemy.

“They are genuinely deranged,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted on Telegram.

Adding further details on Sunday, Zelenskyy wrote on X that at least 83 people had been confirmed injured since midnight, with some fatalities as a result of the Russian attack, which he said had hit Kyiv the hardest.

Zelenskyy described the “heavy attack” targeting Kyiv that involved 600 drones and 90 missiles of various kinds, 36 of which were ballistic ones. “Unfortunately, not all of the ballistic missiles were intercepted – the largest number of hits was in Kyiv. Kyiv was the primary target of this Russian attack,” he wrote on X.

Zelenskyy said the Russians have used Oreshniks against Ukraine three times in the four-year war.

“It is important that this does not pass without consequences for Russia,” said Vitali Klitschko, Kyiv’s mayor, adding that two people had been killed in the capital and 56 wounded, while the head of the surrounding Kyiv region said two people had also been killed there, and nine wounded, based on preliminary estimates.

Klitschko said damage had been recorded in every district of Kyiv, adding that an attack on a school had started a fire and another on a business center had led to people being trapped in a shelter.

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry was damaged for the first time since the Second World War, Andrii Sybiha, the Foreign Minister, said. The historic building with “unique architectural heritage” had been lightly damaged as a result of nearby explosions, he said.
Russian strikes had “targeted a historic area,” Sybiha added. “Yet another proof we are dealing with hordes of barbarians, not the heirs of civilization.”

Ukraine’s government headquarters were also damaged, with windows blown out, but no one was injured, said Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.

A school building was damaged by an attack while people sheltered inside, Klitschko said. Local authorities reported supermarkets and warehouses across the city were also damaged.

While the damage and human losses are still being assessed, local authorities said two civilians were killed and 81 injured, including three children.

Explosions were also heard in Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions.

Kharkiv Regional Military Administration Head Oleh Syniehubov confirmed that Russian drone operators deployed tactical devices directly into a civilian residential sector during the early morning hours.

Global leaders and foreign ministers have issued a wave of condemnations following Russia’s massive, multi-vector missile and drone offensive against Kyiv on May 24. Western allies, including Canada, Finland, Moldova, and the Baltic states, explicitly categorized the targeting of residential high-rises and cultural hubs as war crimes and acts of state terrorism.

The White House has again been silent on this latest Russian crime against Ukraine.

Ferit Hoxha, Albania’s Foreign Minister, reported that the residence of the Albanian ambassador to Ukraine was hit during the attack, denouncing it as “unacceptable” and a “grave escalation.”

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas publicly rebuked Russia’s early morning deployment of an RS-26 Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missile against the city of Bila Tserkva, characterizing the strike as a reckless gamble that invites the risk of nuclear war. Kallas stated that Moscow’s reliance on nuclear-capable delivery platforms to terrorize urban centers reveals a battlefield deadlock, framing the operation as a deliberate tactic of political intimidation aimed at causing maximum civilian casualties.

“Russia does not attack cities like this because it wants peace.” Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs Maxime Prévot condemned the latest heavy attack by Russia on Kyiv and other places in Ukraine.

“Last night, Kyiv was the main target of a massive Russian strike. Missiles and drones hit homes, schools, a market, and essential infrastructure... Whatever narrative Russia may put forward, the facts remain clear: civilians were struck, residential areas were hit, and there is no justification for attacks that terrorize an entire population. The reported use of an Oreshnik missile is another chilling signal. These weapons are designed not only to destroy, but to intimidate, exhaust, and break the spirit of a nation,” observed Prévot.

Emmanuel Macron, the French president, condemned the attacks, including the use of the Oreshnik missile, which he said signaled “the dead end of Russia’s war of aggression.”

Responding to the latest strikes on Ukraine, Kallas added: “Russia hit a dead end on the battlefield, so it terrorizes Ukraine with deliberate strikes on city centers. These are abhorrent acts of terror meant to kill as many civilians as possible.”

The latest Russian bombardment also destroyed or damaged Ukrainian cultural artifacts. Buildings housing a theatre, a philharmonic hall, two museums, a library, universities, a church, a monastery, and architectural landmarks were damaged in Kyiv.

"Experts and relevant services are currently documenting all the consequences of the attack and assessing the scale of the destruction. Russia systematically targets culture and spaces that shape Ukrainian identity. They are trying to destroy our memory. But Ukrainian culture has endured before and will endure now,” said Culture Minister Tetiana Berezhna. Aquinas Institute of Religious Studies in Kyiv was also struck, the Rev. Jaroslaw Krawiec reported.

Russian forces also almost destroyed the National Chornobyl Museum, on the 40th anniversary of the Russian-instigated nuclear catastrophe north of Kyiv.

Ukraine’s National Art Museum, housing one of the country’s largest and most important collections, was also damaged in the blast, the culture ministry said, posting images of damaged ceilings, broken windows, shattered glass, and debris scattered across floors and staircases.

International expressions of shock and condemnation, as welcome as they are, merely testify to the humanity of the global community of supporters of Ukraine. It doesn’t secure Ukraine from additional bloody waves of Russian bombardments.

Indeed, Ukraine, the nation and its President Zelenskyy shouldn’t descend to Moscow’s level or depravity, callousness, and inhumanity in dealing with enemies and adversaries. However, how much can or should Ukrainians tolerate? How many tears should mothers shed over the bodies of their dead children? I daresay that they have suffered more than a few lifetimes due to Russia’s uncontrolled terrorism and atrocities committed in the course of a war that Russia launched, but now it can’t win.

Destroying evil, destroying an enemy before it returns to kill you, your family, your children is universally tolerated and acceptable. 

Zelenskyy, New Global Leader, Fortunately Takes the Relay Baton from Trump

“Leaders aren't born, they are made. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal which is worthwhile:” Vince Lombardi.

It took Russia’s latest war against Ukraine to transform the vast majority of Ukrainians into patriots, the ambush in the Oval Office, and this year’s conference in Davos to propel President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukraine to their rightful pinnacles among the free nations and leaders of the world.

That belief is circulating today among opinion makers, thought leaders, and influencers.

Over the years, I have enunciated that the free world is in dire need of a new leader, one who knows his or her place in the political and ideological timeline of mankind and isn’t afraid to defend kindred nations against the single evil enemy – Russia. In an earlier blog in the wake of the 2026 Davos conference, I wrote: “There’s a New Global Leader in the Room: Zelenskyy.”

Since the war began in February 2022, Ukraine, then a definite underdog that didn’t have the numbers or cards as President Donald Trump insisted derisively to defend itself against mightier Russia, today has the skills, personnel, equipment, and track record to convince the international community that it can at least force Moscow into its defensive stalemate.

This historical achievement, by the latest second mightiest army in the world, was the hard effort and price that Zelenskyy paid to reach this goal.

Columnist David French, in his column on May 2, 2026, appropriately called “Meet the New Leader of the Free World,” wrote: “A remark­able thing has happened on the world’s bat­tle­fields. Ukraine – a nation that was sup­posed to dis­solve within days of a Rus­sian inva­sion – has fought Rus­sia to a stale­mate, revo­lu­tion­iz­ing land war­fare in the pro­cess. It has become an indis­pens­able secur­ity part­ner in the west­ern alli­ance, includ­ing in the war against Iran.

Now, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s Pres­id­ent, is tak­ing the next step, one that would have been unthink­able even as recently as 2024. By word and deed, he is show­ing Europe and the world how the post-Amer­ican free world can pre­serve its liberty and inde­pend­ence. This is what hap­pens when, as Phil­lips Payson O’Brien wrote in a piece for The Atlantic, ‘Kyiv appears to have given up on the United States.’”

French ominously summed this up by writing: “If that is true, it may be worse news for the United States than it is for Ukraine.”

Gone are the derogatory quips about the lack of Ukraine’s battlefield prowess and antiquated weapons. French noted: “It is no longer accur­ate to think of Ukraine as a des­per­ate under­dog; it is becom­ing an inde­pend­ent power. Even as it fights for its life against Rus­sia, it is reportedly reach­ing defense deals with the Gulf states and with the United States – and this time it’s Ukraine that’s provid­ing mil­it­ary assist­ance.”

Ukrainian drones have undeniably signaled to all observers that its military-industrial expertise, developed an accurate, deadly aerial device that can travel some 1,000 kilometers and destroy its target deep in Russia that is better than world class. News reports indicated that Ukraine’s drones have shaken Russia to the core. A Russian-language notice on the web urged local residents to pack up and leave for their own safety.

I have previously argued that Ukraine is the most fitting country to join the ranks of NATO because the anti-Russian alliance can certainly benefit from its skills. French also drew attention to this: “The largest and most battle-hardened land force in the west­ern world may be the Ukrain­ian Army. The Atlantic Coun­cil estim­ated in 2025 that Ukraine had roughly a mil­lion men and women under arms, the vast major­ity of whom serve in the ground forces.”

As President Donald Trump is cutting off his nose to spite his face on the global stage, President Zelenskyy is building allies and alliances that can be used as a legitimate and practical bulwark against Russian aggression.

At a time when America’s traditional European allies publicly doubt Washington's commitment to their safety and security, President Zelenskyy has composed a significant defensive and battle plan not only to protect Europe but also to defend specifically against Russia’s aggression.

Alluding to his recent calls for the establishment of a European army, Zelenskyy said at the Davos conference: “Europe needs to know how to defend itself.” He continued: “Next point. I’ve said it before, and I’ll repeat it again: Europe needs united armed forces – forces that can truly defend Europe. Today, Europe relies only on the belief that if danger comes, NATO will act. But no one has really seen the Alliance in action. If Putin decides to take Lithuania or strike Poland, who will respond? Who will respond?”

Furthermore, the danger posed by imperial Russia is enhanced by a clear boundary like the one enjoyed by the United States. “Let’s not forget – there’s no ocean separating European countries from Russia. And European leaders should remember this – battles involving North Korean soldiers are now happening in places geographically closer to Davos than to Pyongyang,” he said.

French showed how European nations are preparing to defend themselves against Russian aggression in case Washington backs down. He pointed out that Zelenskyy has pro­posed a new defense arrange­ment for Europe — an alli­ance between E.U. nations, plus non-E.U. powers like the United King­dom, Nor­way, Tur­key and Ukraine. That scenario resembles my suggestion that the former captive nations should form their own alliance based on the wartime Anti-Bolshevik Bloc of Nations. After all, Poland, Lithuania, and Ukraine have already formed their own military and political alliance.

According to French, Zelenskyy is indeed his own protagonist, garnering the support not only of European nations and their leaders but, more importantly, his own nation. It has been said that when Russian soldiers crossed the border into Ukraine, Putin immediately united the nation. Men, women and children, professionals and craftsmen, youth and adults, Catholics, Orthodox, Jews, Protestants, Muslims, city dwellers and farmers – all became Ukrainians united in a singular mission – defeat and expel the aggressor.

French also recognized this: “His­tory has its hinge points, and here is one: On Feb­ru­ary 25, 2022, Volodymyr Zelenskyy released a video from Kyiv. He told the people of Ukraine that the gov­ern­ment has not fled to safety in the west and that it inten­ded to stand and fight.

“‘We are here,’ Zelenskyy said. ‘We are in Kyiv. We are pro­tect­ing Ukraine.’

“When I vis­ited Ukraine in 2023, I spoke to Ukrain­ian sol­diers who told me that state­ment sent a jolt of elec­tri­city through Ukrain­ian lines. From that moment, they knew they would not sur­render.

“In hind­sight, that decision hasn’t just changed the course of Ukrain­ian his­tory. Its effects are extend­ing across the globe.”

As America’s sun is setting thanks to the misguided, jingoistic policies of Donald J. Trump and his team that will not benefit America, Europe, and Ukraine, it is fortunate that Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukraine are on the front lines.

“For the first time in my adult life, the moral and stra­tegic heart of the defense of lib­eral demo­cracy doesn’t beat in Wash­ing­ton. It doesn’t beat in Paris or Ber­lin or Ott­awa, either. It’s in Kyiv, where a cour­ageous leader and a cour­ageous people have picked up the torch Amer­ica has dropped.” Freeman concluded.

Russia Escalates Terror: Second Day of Mass Drone and Missile Strikes Targets All of Ukraine

Following a devastating wave of attacks on May 13, Russia launched an even more massive assault on May 14, firing more than 800 drones and missiles within a 24-hour period. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has condemned the onslaught as a “deliberate terrorist tactic,” calculated to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defenses and strike civilian infrastructure at a scale unseen since the start of the full-scale invasion more than four years ago.

A Nation Under Fire

The statistics from the Ukrainian Air Force tell a harrowing story of asymmetrical warfare. Of the 1,567 drones and 56 missiles launched over the past 48 hours, Ukrainian defenses achieved a 94% intercept rate for drones but only 7% for ballistic missiles.

“This is a deliberate terrorist tactic,” Zelenskyy stated, noting that a Kh-101 missile which struck a residential building in Kyiv was manufactured as recently as the second quarter of 2026. This suggests that despite international sanctions, Moscow continues to import critical components for its death machine.

The Human Toll: From Kyiv to the Borders of NATO

The carnage was widespread, affecting nearly every oblast:

Kyiv: A residential building in the Darnytskyi district partially collapsed, killing at least 12 people, including two children. Rescuers continue to clear debris with more than 10 people still missing.

Western Ukraine: In a move that prompted Budapest to summon the Russian ambassador, hundreds of drones targeted regions closest to NATO borders. Hits were recorded in Zakarpattia (the first such massive attack on Uzhhorod), Lviv, Volyn, and Ivano-Frankivsk.

Ternopil & Central Ukraine: Drones entering from the Black Sea targeted Ternopil, Khmelnytskyi, and Chernivtsi. In Rivne, three people were killed when a drone struck a home.

Southern Front: In Kherson, a “double-tap” strike injured emergency responders, while 27 civilians were wounded in attacks on public transport.

Dnipropetrovsk: Governor Oleksandr Hanzha reported eight fatalities, with teenagers among the wounded and critical gas infrastructure damaged.

Political Shifting Gears in Washington

While Ukraine bleeds, the political landscape in Washington, D.C., is seeing a rare moment of movement. Supporters of a new aid bill reached a critical threshold on May 13, gathering 218 signatures on a discharge petition led by Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY). This move bypasses Republican leadership to force a House vote. Notably, the petition gained the final required signature from Independent Rep. Kevin Kiley (CA).

In a surprising turn, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently characterized Ukraine’s Armed Forces as the “strongest, most powerful” military in Europe, highlighting Ukraine’s development of “hybrid asymmetrical warfare.” However, the absence of an official condemnation of these latest strikes from President Donald Trump remains a point of deep concern for Ukrainian American voters and long-time supporters of Ukrainian independence.

Weakness in Moscow

The scale of the terror in Ukraine stands in stark contrast to the "subdued" atmosphere in Moscow. British Defense Intelligence observed that Russia’s 2026 Victory Day parade was significantly scaled back, lacking tanks and missile systems due to military shortages and the persistent threat of Ukrainian drones. In many towns, kindergarteners in military uniforms replaced actual soldiers—a visual testament to an aging leadership increasingly unable to counter the UAS threat.

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council. “Such a scale of Russian terror necessitates strong international responses,” Sybiha stated. “Russia has chosen terror over peace.”

Russia Reaches New Level of State-Sponsored Barbarism Against Ukraine

Russian state-sponsored barbarism since the start of this Russian war against Ukrainians has no bounds. As gruesome as it reads, the decapitation of prisoners of war is a bloody example of Russia’s total disregard for human lives—in this case, Ukrainian.

Since the Russian war against Ukraine resumed more than four years ago, we have provided numerous examples of its gross violations of common decency, rights of POWs, rights of humans, and notably children. We have written about their killing of unarmed civilians, rape and murder of young boys and girls, bombing of public transportation, apartment buildings and homes, supermarkets, and houses of worship. All of these heinous acts by the Russians against Ukrainians have been condemned by international organizations like the United Nations.

It seems that every dawn brings a new report of a new Russian crime against humanity.

The Kyiv Independent reported today that a Russian military commander ordered his troops to decapitate the bodies of two Ukrainian soldiers killed near Huliaipole and put them on display, according to Ukraine’s General Staff. "The enemy's cynicism and cruelty know no bounds," the General Staff wrote.

A Russian combat unit ambushed soldiers of Ukraine's 225th Separate Assault Regiment on the front lines near Huliaipole in Zaporizhzhia Oblast on May 12. Two Ukrainian soldiers were killed in battle. Intelligence intercepts showed that the commander of the Russian unit issued a direct order for his subordinates to cut the heads off the bodies of the fallen soldiers and place them in a "conspicuous spot" at the edge of the field. This was to be done "for confirmation," according to radio intercepts. The subordinate soldier reportedly expressed willingness to carry out this order.

The unit whose soldiers took part in the acts of desecration has been preliminarily identified. The commander who issued the order is believed to have previously ordered his troops to mock Ukrainian prisoners of war.

“By desecrating the bodies of fallen soldiers, the occupiers have once again demonstrated their sadistic nature and excessive, ostentatious cruelty,” the military said. “This is a gross, deliberate violation of the rules and customs of war — a war crime with no statute of limitations.”

A Pattern of State-Sponsored Barbarism

The recent report regarding the beheading of fallen Ukrainian soldiers is not an isolated incident of madness. It is a calculated tool of psychological warfare and a direct reflection of Moscow’s cruel military doctrine. To provide a broader context for this latest report, here is a summary of documented atrocities that demonstrate the systemic nature of these crimes:

1. Systematic Execution of Prisoners of War: The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine is currently investigating dozens of cases where Ukrainian servicemen were executed after surrendering. Notable incidents near Avdiivka and Robotyne show a recurring pattern: Russian forces filming the execution of unarmed soldiers with their hands raised, violating the most fundamental protections of the Geneva Conventions.

2. The Infrastructure of Torture: From the liberation of the Kyiv and Sumy regions to the ongoing occupation of southern Ukraine, “torture chambers” (kativni) have been discovered in nearly every liberated town. Evidence from sites in Bucha and Trostyanets reveals the use of electric shocks, mock executions, and captives being starved and denied medical care.

3. Chemical Warfare and Prohibited Weapons: Beyond physical mutilation, Moscow continues to deploy chemical agents via drones (such as K-51 grenades). This use of riot control agents as a weapon of war is a direct violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, further proving that the Kremlin views international law as non-binding.

Editorial Note: The Roots of Impunity

These acts are the inevitable result of decades of unpunished crimes in Chechnya and Syria. When the international community fails to hold the perpetrator accountable, "barbarism" becomes a standardized military tactic. For the readers of The Torn Curtain 1991, these events serve as a stark reminder that we are not just witnessing a territorial aggression, but a fundamental struggle against a regime that has abandoned the very concept of human rights.

It is inconceivable that any human being wouldn’t cringe at these reports. That’s why Ukrainian American voters can’t understand the White House’s silence. Ukrainian American voters won’t forget this come Election Day.