A Genocidal Message from Moscow
<p>Ifanyone was still wondering why the United States and our European allies are arming and supporting Ukraine, the Kremlin delivered a potent, blistering reminder in the form of a missile attack that turned a crowded market in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/09/06/world/russia-ukraine-news#a-deadly-russian-strike-targets-kostyantynivka-close-to-the-eastern-front-lines" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Kostyantynivka</a> into a scene of fiery devastation and death yesterday. The strike reportedly killed at least 17 civilians, and was impossible to justify in any military, political, or moral sense. It was genocidal terror, and thus typical of the Kremlin’s insane war of aggression in Ukraine, which has been one prolonged episode of genocidal violence.</p>
<p><iframe frameborder="0" height="480" scrolling="no" src="https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FgAP_7MA6DiI%3Ffeature%3Doembed&display_name=YouTube&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DgAP_7MA6DiI&image=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FgAP_7MA6DiI%2Fhqdefault.jpg&key=a19fcc184b9711e1b4764040d3dc5c07&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=youtube" title="CCTV captures moment Russian missile strikes market in Donetsk, Ukraine" width="854"></iframe></p>
<p>The missile blew apart the market even as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in the country visiting Kyiv, and meeting with Ukraine’s President <a href="https://twitter.com/HinduAmerican/status/1699044514013286834" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Volodymyr </a>Zelensky and his top officials. Thus, the strike could plausibly be read as a provocation directed at the Biden administration, and a signal of the Kremlin’s mounting frustration with America’s continuing support for Kyiv.</p>
<p>However, like everything else about Russia’s misbegotten invasion, the strike has clearly backfired: Blinken promptly announced another $1 billion in additional military assistance and aid, as Ukrainian forces grind forward in what has been a difficult and bloody counteroffensive to liberate occupied territory in the nation’s east and south, meter by meter, trench by trench. The U.S. is poised to deliver desperately needed mine-clearing vehicles, more cluster munitions, and other materials designed to boost Ukraine’s offensive capabilities.</p>
<p><a href="https://medium.com/discourse/a-genocidal-message-from-moscow-4f807eb8cc29"><strong>Learn More</strong></a></p>