Shoigu and Putin
© ReutersFILE PHOTO: Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu
The Russian military campaign in Ukraine is progressing as intended, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has said. The relatively slow pace is the result of a conscious decision to protect civilian lives, he stated.

Speaking at an international event on Wednesday, the minister stated that Russia "strictly follows the norms of humanitarian law" in Ukraine, countering claims to the contrary made by Kiev.

"We do everything to avoid casualties among peaceful citizens. Certainly, it slows down the pace of the offensive, but we take this approach consciously," he added.

Shoigu contrasted Russia's priorities in Ukraine with those of the US and its allies. The ongoing supplying of weapons to Kiev and other Western policies only prolong the conflict and inflate the human cost, he said.

Western nations have accused Russia of launching an unprovoked war of aggression against the neighboring country, and have said their military assistance will continue for "as long as it takes." Moscow, which believes the operation was necessary to stop NATO's creeping expansion into Ukraine, says its opponents want to "fight to the last Ukrainian" in order to hurt Russia.

The senior Russian military official was speaking during a ministerial meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a regional Eurasian security group that counts nations such as China, India, and Pakistan among its members.


Ukraine uses scorched earth tactics - Moscow

Ukrainian troops are trying to inflict maximum damage to civilian infrastructure, as well as targeting civilians who reside in the areas where they are fighting Russian forces, Moscow's top defense official has claimed.

Minister Sergey Shoigu warned, on Wednesday, that Ukrainian military units "are using scorched earth tactics, grossly violate international norms, act like terrorists."

"They use residential areas, schools, kindergartens as firing positions, deploy tanks and artillery guns there, using the population as a human shield," he added.


Comment: Interviews with residents of these regions confirm these statements.


He went on to accuse Kiev of remotely mining frontline communities with anti-personnel mines, claiming it is evidence that Ukraine intends "to inflict maximum damage to civilians and civilian infrastructure."


Comment: And these petal mines have already claimed civilian causalities.


Earlier this month, Amnesty International released a report confirming that its inspectors witnessed Ukrainian troops using civilian sites such as schools and hospitals as military bases.


Comment: As a sign of how compromised the charity is, but how undeniable Kiev's criminality is, Amnesty International apologised for the language it used, but didn't retract its statement.


Kiev condemned the document, claiming that the human rights organization was aiding Russia by corroborating these facts.

Amid the backlash, Amnesty's German branch said it wanted independent experts to review the process that led to the publication.