51 Killed in Russia’s Bombing of a Coffee Shop in Kharkiv — Russia’s War of Terror Continues

On Thursday, the 5th of October, 2023, a Russian rocket killed at least 51 civilians in Eastern Ukraine, Kharkiv. According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, this was one of the deadliest attacks on civilians in Ukraine in months.

In this, Russia’s war on Ukraine really is unique.

What distinguishes the conflict is not the civilian casualties, the large numbers of refugees fleeing to neighboring countries, or the interlocked histories of the two nations involved in the conflict.

No.

What actually distinguishes this conflict from other conflicts is the extensive use of drones — and shelling.

CNN reported that nearly 60,000 Russian bombs are dropped on Ukraine daily. That would mean that Russia dropped 21 million shells on Ukraine in the past year.

To put that number into context, some reports have claimed that Western production can facilitate the production of 5,000 shells a day.

Of course, a lot of these come from artillery strikes, but a large percentage come from drone strikes. Drone strikes that are beginning to terrorize the Russian side as well.

So, the latest news out of Ukraine, that Russia claimed the lives of 51 civilians sitting at a coffee shop and walking in a nearby shopping mall, is not a novel method of terror. Ukrainians know as much.