As I write this, it is day 332 of the largest terrorism organisation in the world a.k.a. the Russian Federation’s offensive in Ukraine. It is day 332 of daily shelling, missiles and drone attacks, torture and mass murders by Russian terrorists. It is day 332 of an attack on a sovereign country of 40 million. 

And, as much as it pains me to write: it is day 332 of the world getting used to not only everyday civilian and military casualties, but massive terrorist attacks on Ukrainians that have claimed the lives, health and well-being of thousands of Ukrainians. 

In addition to non-stop day and night attacks, there have been 14 massive terrorist attacks on civilians. 

• 1 March 2022. Kharkiv: Russians launched a missile, hitting a busy building in the centre of Kharkiv. With 29 dead and 35 injured, it was a huge signal to all of Ukraine that this war was aimed at killing as many Ukrainians as possible. It was the beginning and Kharkiv was one of the most pro-Russian and Russian-speaking regions in Ukraine. All of the support ended right then and there, on 1 March.
• 16 March 2022. Mariupol: One of the most diabolical attacks in the history of humanity. Russians were heavily shelling Mariupol so hundreds of people took shelter in Mariupol’s famous drama theatre. People wrote “KIDS” in huge, metres-long letters, so it would be visible from everywhere. Back then, we didn’t know that children’s and maternity wards, schools and hospitals were deemed legitimate targets by the Russians. They bombed the theatre. We know of more than 300 deaths. Unfortunately, we will probably never know the exact number of our women and children murdered that day as the Russians are literally levelling the ruins and pouring concrete to cover their war crimes.
• 17 March 2022. Merefa: On an early spring morning, Russian terrorists struck a school and a house of Ukrainian culture, claiming the lives of 23 civilians and injuring 26 more.
• 29 March 2022. Mykolaiv: We, the Ukrainian people, look at Ukrainians of Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Kherson and Zaporizhya as if they are all made of steel. The amount of shelling, missile and drone attacks Mykolaiv went through and is going through every day is unbelievable. On 29 March, Russia launched a massive attack on the building of the Mykolaivska district administration, killing 37 and injuring 36.
• 8 April 2022. Kramatorsk: Photos from that day will stay with us forever. It is impossible to wrap your mind around such sinister war crimes. This is most definitely one of the most terrifying instances of mass murder that’ll stay in history’s darkest corners. People were fleeing the region, leaving their homes in advance of a possible Russian assault. The railway station was packed. And that was when Russians shelled the station platforms. They killed 61 and seriously injured 121 people that day. When our rescuers cleared the scene, we were left to witness a railway platform full of blood stains, bags, baby carriages and blood-soaked toys that children were hugging before Russian terrorists claimed their lives.
• 27 June 2022. Kremenchuk: It was a gorgeous summer day and Amstor shopping mall in Kremenchuk had its usual busy day when Russians aimed their missiles at these “military bases”.
  
  Though the vast majority of the people were evacuated in time because of a siren alert, 21 civilians were killed and 69 injured. President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement on that tragic day: “Only absolutely lunatic terrorists are capable of launching missiles on a target like this; there is no place on Earth for people like that. This is not an accidental attack. It is a calculated Russian strike specifically against this shopping mall.”
• 1 July 2022. Serhiivka: Twenty-two people were killed and 36 injured after a terrorist Russian missile strike on the small tourist village of Serhiivka in the Odesa Oblast.
• 9 July 2022. Chasiv Yar: On this tragic day, Russians aimed their missiles at the five-storey apartment building in the Chasiv Yar town of Donetsk region — 48 bodies, including children, were retrieved from the debris and we were able to rescue nine.

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• 14 July 2022. Vinnitsa: A Russian hoard launched a huge missile attack at the centre of Vinnytsia in the morning. Two of the missiles aimed at the city centre were shot down, but three more hit the busy city. Our air forces stated that the Russians attacked Vinnytsia with Kalibr missiles. The number of injured and critically injured civilians was an astounding 198. The death toll was 23, and rose to 28 over time.
• 29 July 2022. Olenivka: A day that will be forever in the hearts of millions of Ukrainians. The mass murder of Ukrainian prisoners of war in Olenivka village of the Donetsk region by the Russians is one of our darkest days. Russian war criminals blew up the building in which Ukrainian prisoners of war were being held. We lost 53 of our heroes that day and their families forever lost a chance to see their loved ones. The number of our injured POWs rose to 130.
• 18 August 2022. Kharkiv: Russians attack Kharkiv every single day and night. It seems as though explosions have become a part of everyday life for this beautiful city. One of the most targeted districts in Kharkiv is Saltovka, which has been heavily shelled from day one. On 17 August, the streets of Saltovka were attacked by the occupiers three times a day and, in the late evening, Russians launched a Kalibr missile on a residential street, hitting civilian buildings. There was a huge fire after the attack that was almost impossible to put out. We lost 25 citizens that day. Thirty-five were admitted to hospital.
• 24 August 2022. Chapline: Russians attacked the village of Chapline three times on 24 August, with the first rocket hitting the home of a mother with two small children. In the afternoon, an enemy rocket destroyed another private house. Three people — a woman and two children — were buried under the rubble. Later that day, Russians launched four more missiles which damaged the utility buildings at the railway station, the station itself and passenger cars nearby. We lost 25 people and 31 others were injured.
• 30 September 2022. Zaporizhya: Russians launched a missile strike, hitting a humanitarian convoy in Zaporizhya. Russian war criminals specifically targeted the convoy of civilian cars attempting to enter the occupied territory to help their friends and family, to either deliver food and medical aid or evacuate them. Thirty-two Ukrainian civilians were killed and 86 injured on that day.
• 14 January 2023. Dnipro: I wrote about this horrifying terrorist attack on civilians in Dnipro last week. According to confirmed data, 45 people died, including six children.
  

  Rescue workers continue their work at the site of a damaged residential building in Dnipro, southeastern Ukraine, 15 January 2023, amid Russia’s invasion. A rocket hit a nine-story building in Dnipro on 14 January, the State Emergency Service (SES) of Ukraine said in a statement. Russian troops entered Ukraine on 24 February 2022 starting a conflict that has provoked destruction and a humanitarian crisis. EPA-EFE/OLEG PETRASYUK

  The search operation lasted three days and has now been completed. Fifteen bodies remain unidentified and 79 people were injured and are getting the help they need. The weight of the combat part of the Kh-22 missile launched at a civilian building is close to 950kg. We cannot shut down Kh-22 missiles and Russians know it and celebrated the deaths on state TV, stating that they couldn’t wait to level all of our cities.

Read more in Daily Maverick: “After Russia’s latest horrific attack, ask: who are you standing with?”

Russians love causing massive pain and destruction. They widely celebrate every single massive attack. If you could read Russian comments under the posts about the lives claimed by terrorists, you would be shocked. Every decent human being would. Their leaders don’t share our human values, our promotion of peace and tolerance. 

Even faced with war and genocide, we risk our security to remain a guarantor of food security for the world. All Russian terrorists have done in 332 days is create a food shortage, threaten the world with nuclear strikes, threaten the world with famine, and do their best to freeze and starve anyone they can. 

I do believe that preventing Russian terrorist attacks on our nation and on all of the civilised world is a challenge for everyone, for every country and every leader, not just us. And we are thankful for every single person standing against Russia’s terrorism with us.

To those who don’t, I just have one thing to say: hope and pray for us to win. Because, if there is no us to produce and supply the world with grain, oil and so on, the world will truly face Russian terrorism. They will undoubtedly use food security as their winning blackmail card. Don’t get used to Russian terrorism. Fighting them is much more gratifying than standing with them. DM