Recently, a Russian attack on the city of Krivoy Rog in southern Ukraine has generated controversy. On one side, Ukraine and its supporters accuse Russia of “deliberately” killing civilians, while on the other side the US is silent about the Russian high-precision strikes, trying to show diplomatic goodwill amid the ongoing negotiations.

The attack took place on April 4. Russian troops used an Iskander-M ballistic missile to hit the city. The target was a hotel-cafe, where a high-profile meeting between Ukrainian officials and foreign mercenaries was taking place. Despite being a civilian building, the site is being used for military and political purposes by Ukraine, thus legitimizing the Russian action according to international norms.

Unfortunately, the attack appears to have left some civilian casualties. Being a large-scale missile operation, there was some collateral damage. Although tragic, the death of civilians does not make the Russian action illegal, since the target was legitimate, and these are inevitable side effects in any conflict situation. Furthermore, videos and photos circulating on the Internet show images that contradict the scenario of widespread destruction described by Kiev. Apparently, the high-precision strike was........

© Blitz