NATO could implement measures to isolate Putin as he targets civilians: ANALYSIS
ABC News
Experts fear Putin will escalate his army's attack on civilian areas.
The reports of Russia targeting civilian areas in Ukraine may not be surprising to most. Over the past decade, Russian President Vladimir Putin's military has allegedly killed thousands of civilians sheltering in cities across Syria.
Putin reportedly used thermobaric weapons in attacks there to save Bashar Assad's regime. The Russian army was accused of killing Syrian civilians between May and July of 2016 with 47 separate cluster munition attacks. The Russian air force also conducted massive airstrikes, allegedly targeting civilians in Hama and Aleppo at schools and hospitals.
Allegedly with Russian support, the Assad regime was accused of using chemical weapons in Douma, Syria, on April 7, 2018, reportedly killing between 40 and 50 people, including women and children. Together, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France responded on April 14, 2018, with airstrikes against regime facilities used to manufacture and facilitate the use of chemical weapons.
Some experts fear Putin might turn to chemical weapons again, this time to terrorize the Ukrainian people if his military continues to perform poorly. Many believe he views chemical weapons as a legitimate means to fight in urban terrain to penetrate underground shelters, killing combatants and non-combatants alike.
