Yale Humanitarian Research Lab on Russia Destroying Ukrainian Hospitals, Schools & Cultural Landmarks

By Kris Osborn – President, Center for Military Modernization

The Russian willingness to deliberately target civilian areas such as apartment complexes and residential areas with indiscriminately fire unguided missiles, rockets and bombs clearly intended for non-military targets is now well known, widely documented and condemned by more than 50-countries around the world.

These attacks, which have killed and injured roughly 1,000 children since the beginning of the war, have also been accompanied by consistent, documented reports of atrocities and war crimes committed against Ukrainian soldiers and non-combatants for months. A write up in International News.Az cites the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine reporting preliminary figures that as many as 376 children have been killed in Ukraine as as many as 733 others injured. Given the scope of Russian bombing in civilian areas, these number may indeed be much higher.

Beneath the surface of these more visible and broadly recognized direct attacks against children and other innocent Ukrainian victims, there is also a growing sphere of lesser known atrocities such as evidence of widespread, systematic bombing of Ukrainian healthcare facilities, museums, cultural heritage sites and even educational institutions. The Prosecutor General’s Office says 2,300 educational institutions have been damaged.

A series of detailed reports from the Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab published satellite photos and large amounts of aggregated evidence to show the actual extent of the devastation and murder pursued by Russian attackers.

One such Yale report, published earlier this year, is called “Evidence of Widespread and Systematic Bombardment of Ukrainian Healthcare Facilities.” The text of the report is extensive, stating that during the course of roughly one month from February to March of 2022, 22 Ukrainian Healthcare facilities were attacked, according to evidence uncovered by Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL).

“The HRL verified damage through cross-corroboration of very high resolution satellite imagery and open source information. Based on a review of nearly 300 facilities across five cities and regions, the HRL has concluded that Russia-aligned forces have engaged in widespread and systematic bombardment of Ukrainian healthcare facilities,” the text of the report cites.

The HRL report is clear to specify that it is not taking a position as to whether these attacks are “indiscriminate” or “deliberate,” but says that either way, the attacks are a war crime.