We’ve seen plenty of reports of Russian atrocities against civilians in Ukraine. Below is a translated German-language report (which includes a section translated from the Russian) about alleged Ukrainian attacks on civilian targets across the border in Russia.

Many thanks to Hellequin GB for translating this article from Anti-Spiegel. The translator includes this note:

Personally, I cannot say whether this is real or not, but what I can say for certain is that after truth — the first casualty of war — humanity is definitely the second casualty.

It’s also notable that at least two of the victims have what appear to be Ukrainian names (“-enko” is typically the ending of a Ukrainian surname), which illustrates the ethnic complexity of the situation in Ukraine and western Russia.

War crimes not an issue in the West: Ukraine is shelling Russian towns

Western media largely conceal the fact that the Ukrainian army is attacking civilian targets in Russia.

by Thomas Röper

I have previously reported that the Ukrainian army has begun attacking civilian targets in Russia near the Russo-Ukrainian border. Ukraine sees itself at war with Russia, which is why from a military point of view one could still understand if Ukraine were to attack military targets in Russia. But the Ukrainian army carries out its attacks on Russia the same way it does in its own country, targeting residential areas and civilians. This was reported by Russian TV on Sunday in its weekly news review, and I have translated the Russian report:

Start of translation:

This week the border areas of the Russian regions of Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk were attacked by the Ukrainian army. There have been victims. Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov then stated that if the Ukrainian side continued its attempts at sabotage and attacks on facilities in Russia, Russian forces would attack “decision centers”, including in Kyiv. For this reason, the Russian Kalibr became active on Friday. [Translator’s note: the Kalibr are Russian cruise missiles.]

“Tonight long-range, high-precision sea-launched Kalibr missiles struck a military installation on the outskirts of Kyiv. During the attack on the Vizar machine-building plant in Shulyansk, the production and repair workshops for long- and medium-range anti-aircraft missile systems and anti-ship missiles were destroyed. In response to terrorist attacks or acts of sabotage by the nationalist Kiev regime on Russian territory, rocket attacks on Kyiv facilities will increase in number and scope. Russian air defenses captured a Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopter near the village of Gorodnya in the Chernihiv region, which on April 14 attacked residents of the settlement of Klimovo in the Bryansk region.

A report from the affected areas

The entire house of the Berlow family was riddled with shrapnel: the windows in the kitchen were shattered, the fence was shredded and part of the roof was damaged. The projectile struck just thirty meters from the front door and left a large crater in the asphalt. The Berlows themselves were lucky that nothing happened to them. “Half an hour earlier I went to a friend’s house and my wife went to buy bread just three minutes earlier,” recalls Mikhail Berlow.

The investigative committee has already established the exact time of the air strike on the village of Klimovo in the Bryansk region — 12:30 p.m. Two Ukrainian helicopters entered Russian airspace. In a few minutes, they managed to land six hits in a residential area from a low altitude. Three missiles were fired from each helicopter. Seven local residents were among the victims, including a pregnant woman and her two-year-old child. They were transferred to a clinic in the capital. The remaining patients will continue to be cared for by local doctors.

Maxim Ermachenko suffered a serious shrapnel wound to his leg. In the hospital he tells us how the splinters hit him.

And here lived a 73-year-old pensioner. One of the projectiles fell directly on the roof of her house. “Her leg was torn off. She’s in intensive care now,” her relative said.

Elena Pupchenko was standing in the doorway when a shell exploded, collapsing the roof of her house. It’s hard to believe, but she didn’t get a single scratch. “Maybe I haven’t done what I’m destined to do in this life, so it was decided to leave me in this world,” says the woman.

The day before, Ukrainian forces had attacked the Novy Yurkovichi border crossing point near the village of the same name in the same district of the Bryansk region. The village was shot at with mortars. The attack began when refugees were at the border crossing.

“At the time of the shelling, more than 30 Ukrainian refugees on their way to the Russian Federation were at the checkpoint. They were evacuated. There were no injuries,” said Sergei Kuzin, spokesman for the border guard of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation in the Bryansk region.

In the Belgorod region, shots were fired not at the border crossing points, but at settlements in the border area. The villages of Zhuravlevka and Spodaryushino came under fire. A local resident was wounded. Part of the population had to be evacuated, and both villages are now guarded around the clock.

Another border town of the Belgorod region, Zhebekino, almost fell victim to acts of sabotage on the railway. The attackers used an explosive device to damage the tracks of the line connecting the regional center with the Nezhegol railway station. A bus that was on its way to the border was immediately stopped. A tragedy was averted. The damage was repaired a few hours later.

The emergency services also acted quickly in Klimovo near Bryansk. Power was restored by evening. A state of emergency has been declared in the area. It was decided to compensate for all damage caused to local residents from the state budget.

Of the six houses that were damaged, two cannot be repaired. The authorities have decided that the owners can decide whether they want compensation or whether new houses should be built for them.

As for the attackers, the Defense Ministry reported that one of the two helicopters that entered Russian territory was already being pursued and destroyed.

[end of translation]