“As Russia can’t break through the fronts”she “hit the civilians”, explained Tuesday, October 18 on franceinfo Julien Théron, researcher and teacher in conflicts and international security at Science Po. Russian strikes are intensifying in Ukraine. These bombings hit electrical infrastructure in several cities across the country on Tuesday, killing several civilians. The situation is “critical”affirmed the Ukrainian presidency.
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“Contemporary theories of war demonstrate that when populations are struck down, they generally rise up against the aggressor.”, emphasizes Julien Théron. The use of unmanned drones by the Russians proves that “the Ukrainians were able to establish a no-fly zone” thanks to Western aid, he explained.
franceinfo: Are the strikes against civilians an admission of failure by the Russians?
Julien Theron: Yes, absolutely, because in reality, these are not military targets, they are civilian targets. However, it is forbidden in international law to target, for example, the arrivals of drinking water because it affects civilians. It is a non-discriminatory action, that is to say that we do not separate the civilian from the military. It doesn’t impact the front line to do this stuff. This has a supposedly psychological warfare impact of focusing on the people rather than the military. Of course, since Russia cannot break through the fronts, it goes behind and hits the civilians.
Can Ukraine hold out?
Yes, of course, Ukraine can hold. In reality, all the contemporary theories of war show that when people are beaten, the populations in general rise up against the aggressor. This may seem normal to you, but sometimes there are small exceptions. According to the situation of the belligerents. For example in Afghanistan, despite the fact that the Taliban carried out terrorist and guerrilla actions, they ended up winning despite the fact that the population was directly affected by these attacks because the international forces withdrew. We can imagine that it is the idea of Russia and especially the Syrian scenario. We see more and more in Ukraine a scenario where civilians are targeted, in order to effectively bring down the entire country, civilians included. Just to say: “You are not resisting us!” Of course, the reverse is happening. Not only are the Ukrainians resisting more and more, but the West is increasing their military support.
Why does Russia use drones?
In fact, there has been a reversal of the situation in the Ukrainian skies because even a few months ago the Russians managed to take advantage of one of the weak points of the Ukrainian army, for a long time, the defenses anti-aircraft. They had taken the lead in the air. The situation was completely reversed thanks to Western aid, not only American, but especially French, also with the Mistral missiles. The Ukrainians were able to establish a no-fly zone. Overall, they have made an area where the Russians can no longer go without risking their pilots and their planes very heavily. This obviously has an impact on capacity, it has a human impact, a financial impact, such a political impact in Russia to see planes and helicopters being shot down. And so, effectively, they prefer to use missile systems or unmanned drones.