“Ukraine 5 AM Coalition” asks the governments of the world to respond to the mass shelling of Ukraine

In the early hours of October 10, the entire territory of Ukraine came under Russia’s massive  strikes. According to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, as of 14:00, 84 missiles and 24 UAVs were launched across Ukraine. The National Police of Ukraine note that this was the most massive shelling of Ukraine during the entire period of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

The organizations of Ukraine 5 AM Coalition record attacks on civilian infrastructure facilities and civilian gathering areas throughout Ukraine.

In particular, various parts of Kyiv were hit. The buildings of the railway passenger station, the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, museums, a playground, a pedestrian bridge, etc., were among the objects damaged by the shelling.

This morning, critical infrastructure facilities in Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Rivne, Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, Poltava, Ternopil, Zhytomyr, and Khmelnytskyi regions were attacked.

The time chosen for the attack – rush hour, when people get to work, schools and kindergartens – contributed to a higher number of civilian casualties. As of 16:00 on October 10, it is known that 11 civilians were killed and at least 87 more were injured.

At the same time, on the night of October 10, the Russian army launched another attack on the civilian population of Zaporizhzhia and Nikopol, destroying residential buildings, as well as the premises of a hospital, a school, a post office, a pharmacy, a cafe, a hair salon, an insurance company office, etc. We note that such attacks have already become a routine practice of Russia’s hostilities for front-line Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia, Nikopol and many settlements in the southern and eastern parts of Ukraine.

The night and morning attacks on densely populated areas of Ukrainian cities launched with the use of missiles and drones have all the signs of a war crime – deliberately targeting the civilian population and civilian objects – because it is already known that there are no military objects in the areas of shelling.

Ukraine 5 AM Coalition assures the world community that it will make every effort to thoroughly document the Russian attacks and submit the evidence of alleged crimes to both national and international prosecution mechanisms. In turn, we appeal to the international community with an urgent call not to ignore Russia’s brutal and deliberate attacks on civilian objects and civilian population in Ukraine. The suffering that the residents of Ukraine feel today and on other days of this unprovoked armed aggression require not only assurances that the criminals will be justly punished, but also a proactive position of the world to stop Russia’s systematic actions to destroy Ukraine and Ukrainians.

Ukrainians need protection – in the form of weapons, including those that can protect their lives and health, in the form of the toughest sanctions regime, economic and political pressure on Russia and Russians who support the armed aggression of their state. We, Ukrainian NGOs that are part of Ukraine’s largest coalition for documenting war crimes, ask the governments of the world countries to respond to the events of October 10 not only with declarations of intentions but also with decisive actions and comprehensive support for Ukraine in the struggle for the preservation of its state and human lives and values.