Die Welt reports: A local mayor and a Ukrainian MP accuse the Ukrainian military for holding a military awards ceremony in the congress center of Sumy. This congress center was hit by Russian missiles and Russia claims justification for hitting a military gathering.
Of course, Die Welt does not justify this terrible attack. Killing civilians and children is not justifiable. On the same level, military operations, such as military award ceremonies to which also civilians are invited and which are held in civilian areas (such as the Sumy town center) are as well not justifiable during active combat periods. Sumy is situated about 15km from the Russian border and Kursk region where terrible fights happened since last year and continue. Any military movement is a target. If soldiers happen to be in civil areas, this may allow a hit on them and on the civil area, according to humanitarian and war rules, therefore, civilian areas becoming a legitimate target. Therefore, all combatting parties need to stay away from civil areas, not doing so may as well amount to a war crime and may justify the attack. Of course, the matter also needs to be reviewed under the angle of proportionality.
If it is true that there was a military awards ceremony in the center of Sumy, Donald Trump’s reaction may be appropriate, him saying it was “terrible” and a “mistake” without condemning (yet) the Russian side.
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