Earlier this week a Russian missile took out a pizza restaurant in Kramatorsk, leading to all kinds of claims that the only victims were women and babies. The evidence, however, suggests otherwise. The Russian Defense Ministry reported that the strike hit a gathering of military officers, killing two generals and dozens of foreigners from NATO countries. Scott Ritter, in an analysis published in Sputnik yesterday, notes that video from the scene of the attack shows numerous personnel in uniform, many of whom are obviously foreigners, congregated at the scene, providing first aid, and helping rescue victims. Furthermore, the presence of military vehicles near the destroyed restaurant reinforces the Russian contention that there was a congregation of military personnel at the time of the attack. This suggests that the Russian attack was fully legal under the laws of war. (https://sputnikglobe.com/20230701/scott-ritter-ukraines-growing-addiction-to-foreign-mercenaries-1111597466.html )
“The legal status of the foreign personnel working alongside the Ukrainian army is not so certain,” Ritter writes. “The fact that many are dressed in camouflage uniforms and engage in social media activity which advertises the military/paramilitary aspects of the work they are engaged in only reinforces the reality that not only are they legitimate targets under the laws of war, but also the fact that they themselves most likely lack any protections under international humanitarian law when it comes to being treated as lawful combatants.... The presence of these foreigners in such numbers under such conditions is suggestive of two unescapable realities: that there is a high demand for their services, and that foreign governments are actively facilitating the availability of personnel possessing skill sets attractive to the Ukrainian military.”
