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The Ukrainian government says more than 1,000 schools and universities have been bombed since the start of Russian aggression on February 24.
Many of the schools were used as food distribution centers and shelters. Among them was a school in the Luhansk region that was destroyed by a Russian attack on May 7. Russia denies targeting schools. The principal of Chernihiv School No. 21, Inna Levchenko, thought that staying inside would protect her. But she was wrong, because the school was bombed.
“When I got up, I saw the wave of destruction.” says Ms. Levchenko from a park bench in the capital Kiev, where she was treated for injuries. “It was like a movie scene. “Then I collapsed and everything started to fall apart.”
Russian officials have denied targeting civilian infrastructure. But Ms Levchenko asks how the airstrike could have happened.
“We wrote the word child in capital letters in the school windows”, she says with her face injured by the airstrike.
Ms. Levchenko and the students sheltered in the basement survived the attack. She has broken her leg and has other injuries.
“When they dropped the bomb, they clearly saw that it was a school. When using rocket launchers, it was possible that they hit incorrectly. “But the bombing of the school was intended to intimidate, to terrify people.”
More than 1,000 schools and colleges have been hit by Russian attacks, the Ukrainian government says.
“It’s awful. “It’s one of the scariest things you can imagine happening in a conflict.” says David Bosco, a war crimes expert at Indiana University in Bloomington.
The Associated Press and FRONTLINE have independently verified at least 57 schools that have been hit in a way that indicates possible war crimes.
In the Russian-controlled village of Gorlovka in Donetsk, two teachers were killed in the early days of the war. The parties blame each other.
Deliberately hitting a school, or hospital, that is not used for military purposes, would be a war crime, says war crimes expert David Bosco. He says the large number of civilian buildings hit could indicate a criminal disregard for civilian lives.
“It simply came to our notice then. “It’s a very important element of a war crimes investigation, especially during the investigation or prosecution of senior military or political officials.” says Mr. Bosco regarding the situation in Ukraine.
“The stronger this model is, the stronger the evidence that there is a plan, or policy, to strike at these objects.”
While the 70 children, which Mrs. Levchenko housed in the basement of school no. 21 survived, nine people died, including a 13-year-old student. Officials say 28 of Chernihiv’s 35 schools have been damaged, some of which have been reduced to rubble./VOA
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