Russia hits Ukrainians far from front lines, striking entire nation's morale

From suburbs to malls to college campuses, Russia has been striking far inside Ukrainian-controlled territory, part of what some call a “campaign of terror.”

The photo of a blood-splattered pink stroller tipped on its side, wheels in the air, has driven home a growing conviction in Ukraine: Nowhere and nobody is safe from Russian bombs.

Iryna Dmitrieva and her daughter, Liza, 4, were on their way to see a speech therapist when the Russian rockets slammed into Vinnytsia, a city in west-central Ukraine, some 450 miles from the recognized front lines in the east of the country. Twenty-four people were killed, including Liza, who was in the stroller when the missiles hit.

A baby stroller lies by a road after a deadly Russian missile attack in Vinnytsia, Ukraine, on July 14, 2022.Efrem Lukatsky / APEven as Moscow denies targeting civilians, entire Ukrainian towns and cities lie in ruins, and millions have fled their homes. Many escaped their ravaged regions and settled in cities like Vinnytsia, which is far from the epicenter of fighting in the east and was thus considered safe.

No longer.

From sleepy suburbs of the capital. Kyiv, to a shopping mall in central Kremenchuk and university campuses in the southern Mykolaiv, Russia has been striking deep inside Ukrainian-controlled territory, part of what officials have called Moscow’s “campaign of terror.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russia-strikes-ukraine-inside-front-lines-morale-moscow-rcna38843

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