Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has confessed to war crimes, commenting on strikes on civilian targets in Sumy, Kryvyi Rih, and the Odesa region, in which dozens of Ukrainian civilians were killed.
This was reported by Dmytro Lykhovii, an officer of the Main Communications Department of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on Facebook.
He cited several quotes from the Russian dictator during conversations with journalists.
"Putin confirmed that Russia hit civilian targets in Sumy, Kryvyi Rih, and the Odesa region. However, he lied again, justifying war crimes and violations of international humanitarian law," Lykhova said.
The quote from April 21, 2025 was indicative:
"Regarding the proposal not to strike at civilian infrastructure facilities... Everyone is well aware of the strike by our armed forces on the congress center of Sumy University. This is a civilian facility, but there was an award ceremony... of units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and nationalists... Or a few days ago, in the Odesa region, a settlement 82 km from Odesa - the Russian Armed Forces struck. An agricultural facility, hangars. But there the Kyiv authorities, together with foreign curators and assistants, tried to organize not only the production, but also the testing of a new missile system. A civilian facility, but it was used for military purposes. Here (in Kryvyi Rih) one strike was also struck there. A civilian facility, but the target was military," Putin's statement said.
Lykhovii noted that the Russian dictator lied about the military targets hit. In particular, about Kryvyi Rih, where a total of 20 people died in the shelling on April 4, including nine children, and more than 70 people were injured.
"The Russians claim that the target of the high-explosive missile was the RoseMarine restaurant (formerly known as Magellan), where a military meeting with NATO officers was allegedly being held, and that about 85 servicemen were killed. This is a blatant lie. Video from the scene showed that the missile (with cluster bombs) hit almost a hundred meters from the restaurant. Its building survived, suffering minor damage; this can be seen in the photo," he said.
Regarding the strike on Sumy on April 13, when 35 people died, two of whom were children, and 119 people were injured, Russian propaganda put forward several versions of another war crime. In particular, it claimed a strike on a "meeting of the command staff of the OTU "Siversk."
"However, these statements are not true. There were no meetings or formations at the congress center. The participants in the award ceremony, which was held by the local authorities, were not injured. The two soldiers among the dead were accidental victims - they were walking down the street, like civilians," he noted.
As a result of the strike on the Odessa region on April 19, there were no civilian casualties, but farms in the region were affected, and rescuers were extinguishing fires.
Lykhoviy also added that with its strikes on Kryvyi Rih, Sumy, other peaceful cities and civilian objects, Russia violates the principles of demarcation and proportionality, the prohibition of the indiscriminate use of weapons. The rules of warfare are spelled out in International Humanitarian Law, in particular the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols.
As "Apostrophe" wrote, the Russian dictator found an explanation for the attacks on civilians in Sumy and Kryvyi Rih.