Russian strikes on Ukrainian civilians amount to war crimes, says EU

By Agnes Szucs

BRUSSELS (AA) - The EU considers Russia's missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian civilians to be war crimes, an official from the bloc said on Friday.

"The Russian attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure constitute war crimes," the European Commission's lead spokesperson on foreign affairs, Peter Stano, told reporters.

He pointed out that Russia has been carrying out "reckless drone and missile strikes against Ukraine's population" on a daily basis since the war between the two countries broke out in February last year.

Stano also condemned overnight bombings in the Dnipropetrovsk and Cherkasy regions on Friday that "targeted civilian people while they are sleeping" and injured or killed "a number of innocent people, including children."

"There will be no impunity for the commanders, for the perpetrators and for accomplices. All will be held accountable," Stano asserted.

At least 14 people, including a three-year-old toddler, were killed on Friday in a series of Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian cities, according to Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko.

Over 8,500 Ukrainian civilians were killed and another 15,000 seriously injured since the beginning of Russia’s war on Ukraine, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights says.