All the military claim to want to spare the civilians. In fact, modern warfare is increasingly involving civilians in its planning – and the number of civilian casualties is increasing. So also in Ukraine.
Russia shells civilian targets and residential areas – these headlines have been the news for days and they are not wrong. But what does “civilian” actually mean in war? And that’s where it really gets complicated, because in the modern world the military and civil society can hardly be separated. Especially not when a state like Ukraine is under attack and uses all its resources for defense.
This separation is the basic idea of ”civilized” warfare. But the Hague Convention on Land Warfare dates from before the First World War. From a time when military decisions were sought, whenever possible, in battles in the open field.
Things are getting mixed up today. It starts with simple things like cell phone networks. Actually a purely civilian facility that is also used by soldiers, especially when there is a shortage of their own encrypted military radios. However, the use for warfare purposes changes the status of the installations of these networks.
Long list of military installations
This may still be a gray area, other cases are more obvious. Defense industry locations are military targets, military administrations, recruiting offices as well. But today, these facilities are mostly in mixed zones. Military offices are housed in normal administrative buildings. This is by no means only the case in Ukraine, this practice is common practice. Not out of a perfidious calculation, but because it is more practical in peacetime and many countries wanted to integrate the previously completely shielded world of the military more closely into civil society. In the event of war, this integration becomes a problem.
Today, when a brewery starts bottling Molotov cocktails on its facilities for patriotic reasons, it no longer belongs to the places of food supply, but to the defense industry. And also provides the Russian invaders with the appropriate target coordinates with their encouraging post. The list can be continued endlessly. Workshops that repair tanks and military trucks instead of combine harvesters, metal processing companies that produce anti-tank traps. Are these still civil institutions?
Armed civilians in Ukraine
The whole world sympathizes with Ukraine’s courage in confronting the aggressors. Things are also celebrated there that are actually very problematic. Like arming civilians. Just as happened in Kyiv during the panic of the first few days. To put it bluntly: an armed civilian is no longer a civilian, he is a partisan. And an irregular fighter is far worse off in martial law than a soldier. All protective regulations in favor of prisoners of war do not apply to him. Arming civilians intentionally blurs the lines between fighters and non-combatants, and it doesn’t just apply to actual partisans. If one enjoys the defensive spirit of normal Ukrainian women mixing Molotov cocktails in the courtyards of “normal” buildings, it should be said that these are no longer “normal” buildings.
Why is city defense problematic?
The defeated war party, in this case Ukraine, avoids battles or major skirmishes in open country because their troops will be wiped out there by the enemy’s superior firepower. In terrain and in loosely built-up areas, raid tactics are used, usually from a concealed position. In German, the derogatory word “ambush” has come into use for this legitimate form of warfare. The defense finds a firm footing in cities, in fact in larger cities that the enemy cannot easily bypass. The lack of clarity, the permanent development and positions in high-rise buildings favor the defender. In the 19th century, development usually ended abruptly at the city limits, today the big cities meander more and more into the countryside with a carpet of suburbs, shopping zones and industrial areas.
Fighting in such areas is not prohibited under international law, the problem arises because these zones become war zones even though civilians have not cleared them. In history, the evacuation of civilians was sometimes deliberately prevented. Their presence should increase the soldiers’ will to resist. This is not the case in Ukraine. On the contrary, the government is trying to get the civilians out of Kharkov and Kyiv. At least women and children, men of military age are not allowed to flee. Once cities – like Mariupol – are encircled, evacuation is only possible if the besiegers and defenders work together. That doesn’t work in most conflicts, and if it does, then only with the mediation of neutral third parties such as the Red Cross.
Defense amid civilian development
However, as of today, Kharkov and Kyiv are still full of civilians and they will be drawn into battles for these cities because of the inability to defend the cities far from them. It is often emphasized that the Russian invaders do not have the strength at all to take large cities in house-to-house combat. And that’s right. Over a million Red Army soldiers took part in the actual battle for the city of Berlin. However, one should not forget that the Ukrainian troops are far too weak to put up a real defensive ring around these cities. You can only try to stop the enemy with bases on the access roads and large crossroads. Places in the middle of civil development.
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Such a position does not consist of a point in the middle of the intersection, it is a network of connected positions around the intersection. Such positions are reinforced by the defender using the tall buildings to post snipers, anti-tank missiles, and manpads there. From there you will find a wide field of fire along the road axes or into the airspace. From a foxhole, you cannot use the kilometer-long range of anti-tank missiles at all. Long speech: The civil development is integrated into the defensive position. It is not possible otherwise. If the defenders concentrated solely on commercial areas, the opponent would simply use other roads.
The neutrality of martial law
In modern martial law, the principle of “proportionality” always applies. And that is a field of interpretation and it is not surprising that each side finds a generous interpretation for itself, judging the actions of the opponent very severely. What does that mean? It is certainly disproportionate and therefore illegal to shut down the water supply and electricity for the population in cities, because the enemy’s troops also benefit from it. The situation is different when the enemy’s military bases are being fought. No one can make themselves unassailable by mixing their troops and civilians. What is proportionate and what is not? “We” then look to Aleppo or Grozny, because these places demonstrate the inhumanity of Russian warfare. If you look at Fallujah and Mosul, you won’t see any difference in the extent of the destruction. It is then in the ratings because the defenders are sometimes described as brave independence fighters and sometimes as terrorists.
Ratings are correct and important, Ukraine was attacked, that’s why our solidarity and sympathy belongs to her. Martial law is more formal, and that’s a good thing. It serves to curb the war activities of both sides. And despite all violations, it has proven its worth in many conflicts because, at least as a guide, it curbs violence. A martial law that would mean that the “good guys” can do anything and the “bad guys” can’t do anything would get applause on its side but would do absolutely nothing.