Russia has not been very strict with the laws of war since the beginning of the war with Ukraine. Now Russian soldiers are said to have worn Ukrainian uniforms during the attack on Krupyansk. And that is a very serious violation of the laws of war, experts say.
It would, earlier this week. There is no indisputable evidence for this, but defense expert Patrick Bolder of the Hague Center for Strategic Studies (HCSS) thinks it is very likely that this happened.
“It is not the first time I have heard about it. These violations have been described in several reports from the Institute of War.” This American think tank reports daily on the war in Ukraine.
“Russia simply doesn’t care,” says Bolder about the laws of war. Because there are several examples: there are reports that Russia, and that they are targeting innocent civilians, is the order of the day. The laws of war also state that it must be recognizable on which side you are fighting. This way there are as few innocent victims as possible.
‘Russia does everything’
Former commander of the armed forces Mart de Kruif is also not surprised if Russia would indeed use Ukrainian uniforms. “Russia is doing absolutely everything to win this war. The consequence is that it also does these kinds of things.”
The action is not very original, by the way. The Germans also tried to take parts of the Netherlands with this trick in May 1940. “Then they came up with imitation Dutch uniforms. That was hardly effective, partly because the helmets were made of papier-mâché. They then deformed due to moisture.”
1500 victims per day
According to De Kruif, this action fits in with the image of the war. Russia is using everything it has, and the number of deaths hardly matters. According to international sources, there are approximately 1,500 Russian casualties per day. Not all of them are fatal, but they do need to be taken out of the fight.
But this way ‘the end is lost’, says Bolder. “There’s a lot of danger from this.” According to Bolder, Russia has also deployed soldiers in civilian clothes several times. That is also not permitted under the laws of war.
Trump wants an end to the war
According to both experts, the fact that Russia is doing everything it can to take over as much land as possible can hardly be separated from Donald Trump’s election win in the United States. Trump says he wants to end the war quickly if he comes to power. And the more land, the better the starting position for Russia in the negotiations.
NATO boss Mark Rutte also spoke about the war after Trump’s re-election. You can see this in the video below:
“Ukraine is also acting accordingly,” says De Kruif. “For example, they hardly reveal any territorial gains in the Kursk region of Russia.” Bolder also sees it this way: “They expect Trump to propose a deal. The starting point of that negotiation is important. The more you have, the better.”
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