Russia appears to be placing military facilities near civilian areas in Crimea to deter Ukrainian strikes, experts say
The influential Institute for the Study of War reached the conclusion in an assessment on Sunday, citing a reported strike against Sevastopol, where Russia has its Black Sea Fleet headquarters.
On Sunday, Russia's Ministry of Defence accused Ukraine of launching five American-made MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, also known as ATACMS, with cluster warheads on civilian infrastructure in Sevastopol.
Four ATACMS were shot down, it said, but the impact from a Russian air-defense interceptor caused one to deviate from its trajectory and its warhead to explode midair over the city.
[OH! And so it was Russian incompetent air defense that caused the Ukrainian missile to explode. Russia: FUCK. YOU.]
Placing potential military targets near civilian infrastructure is a strategy Russia has leveraged in the past, with the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and schools in occupied Ukraine used to shield Russian military equipment, the ISW reported.
However, in doing so, Russia is likely breaking its own International Humanitarian Law, which says that military command must refrain from placing military targets close to or in highly populated areas.
[Or are all Palestinians Russian? Palestinians and Russians FUCK. YOU. SLAVA UKRAINI!
