Boris Johnson says Russian attack on Kharkov reminiscent of Sarajevo — Analysis
The British prime minister accuses Russia of “sickening” attack, while Moscow says it’s minimizing civilian casualties
Boris Johnson, the UK’s Prime Minister, stated Tuesday that Russia’s offensive against Kharkov in eastern Ukraine reminds him of Sarajevo’s shelling in 1990s. This prompted NATO airstrikes to the Bosnian Serbs. Russia insists that its military has minimized civilian deaths.
“It reminded me, if any, of the bombardment of Sarajevo by the Serbs and the bombing of innocent peoples in Bosnia. It has that feeling to me of an atrocity against civilian centers.”Johnson stated this to Estonian reporters.
“I think people’s stomachs are being turned by what’s happening, and they’re seeing it’s necessary to stand up against Russian aggression, to support the Ukrainians,”British Prime Minister was added.
Russian troops bombarded Kharkov Tuesday. Moscow maintains that only military targets were being struck. A missile strike on the city’s main square that morning has been portrayed in Western media as an attack on civilians and described by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “open terror,”The square, however, was empty when the strike took place.
Johnson’s statement compared this attack with an artillery strike on a marketplace in the Bosnian city of Sarajevo in the 1990s. Although several markets were targeted during Sarajevo’s siege, the 1995 attack that resulted in the deaths of many people was used by Johnson as a pretext to allow NATO to strike Bosnian Serb targets. This encouraged the Bosnian Muslim troops.
While Johnson’s statement alludes to the possibility of NATO involvement in the conflict, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday that the alliance does “not seek conflict with Russia.”Johnson as well as Stoltenberg have rejected the idea of applying a restraining order. “no-fly zone”Argumentation that Russia and NATO would be forced to war over Ukraine
Some pro-interventionist voices within the UK disagree. On Monday, General Sir Richard Barrons (the former Head of Joint Forces Command) spoke to BBC. saidThis “public opinion”Force could be “NATO military power”Even if intervention is not possible “war with Russia.”Barrons suggested NATO intervention in Yugoslav Wars to be a model. However, he admitted that Russia, unlike Serbia is a nuclear power.
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