Russia's Threats to Newborns in Luhansk Stir Genocide Accusations

[Crunchy Frog]

In the Luhansk region, under the shadow of Russian occupation, a new form of coercion emerges at the most vulnerable moment of life: childbirth.

Reports from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and local authorities reveal a chilling policy: in order to be discharged from maternity clinics, mothers are now required to demonstrate that at least one parent of the newborn holds Russian citizenship. Failure to comply could mean losing their newborns, a tactic that is sparking outrage and allegations of genocide.

This requirement contravenes Article II(d) of the Convention on the Prevention of the Crime of Genocide, which explicitly describes genocide as including "imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group." The ISW report underscores the gravity of these actions, placing them in the stark context of genocidal intent.

...

This move by the Russian authorities not only threatens the sanctity of family and personal rights but also seeks to erase an ethnic identity by severing the bonds between child and cultural heritage.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/russia-s-threats-to-newborns-in-luhansk-stir-genocide-accusations/ar-AA1o7XiV?ocid=winp2fptaskbarhover&cvid=78e9c2a0926f4556b42f29b6dd2a2ebb&ei=53

[Emrys]

1. Russia's conduct in Ukraine has unarguably been genocide for many years

I could go into - distressing - details, but it's a textbook case of which what's described in the OP is just one aspect.

[Crunchy Frog]

2. Yes, I've been following it agonizingly closely for the past 2+ years.

I posted a lot here at the start, then didn't post for a long time, as people seem to be losing interest.

Ukraine is really suffering from inadequate overall western support, and from the months long interruption in US aid. Some of it is more than I can even handle reading about right now. I truly dread what will happen if Ukraine is allowed to fall completely to russia, and I don't think it's impossible given that Putin is patient and the west is apparently less steadfast an ally than Iran or North Korea.

[Emrys]

3. I haven't gotten the sense that people have been losing interest

I've seen folks a while back asking "Why isn't anyone posting about Ukraine?", to which my answer at the time was that giving a blow-by-blow of what has too often been a bloody slug-em-out didn't seem to have much point, nor did kneejerking at every setback or prediction of doom, and there was plenty of coverage out there without the need to look far on social media, even if the mainstream media hasn't covered itself in glory much of the time.

What's surprised me - pleasantly - as someone who follows the conflict perhaps too closely is that not infrequently in recent months I've seen various DUers make comments that indicate to me they are making their own independent efforts to follow events, otherwise they wouldn't know enough to make those observations.

There's been a sea change among the European partners in the EU and NATO that the coverage of the Republicans' stonewalling has partly masked for a US-centric audience. Despite the tragic cost in Ukrainian lives, the stalling may end up having beneficial effects as a number of European countries are stepping up to the mark, finding often inventive ways to supply reinforcements and looking to what might happen if US aid isn't forthcoming in future. None of them (well, apart from outliers like Hungary and Slovakia, though in Slovakia the new government's lack of support for Ukraine has been mitigated by large-scale public crowdfunding) are talking about capitulation or premature negotiations.

If you dread what might happen if Putin won, you can probably imagine how those closer to the conflict feel.