Tag Archives: war

Reply of the Zaporizhzhian Cossacks

By Hugh Barnes The village of Robotyne stands on the high Zaporizhzhian steppe, a remote area that Ukrainians call the ‘wild fields’. Its wildness has only increased since the Russian invasion in February 2022. On the frontline in the war against Russia, halfway between Crimea and Donetsk, 150 miles in either direction, this battlefield withContinue reading “Reply of the Zaporizhzhian Cossacks”

Eyeless in Gaza

Article 6(b) of the 1945 Charter of the International Military Tribunal, later enshrined in the Fourth Geneva Convention, classifies the indiscriminate bombardment of civilian targets, including hospitals, as a war crime. Yet Israel has subjected Gaza to intense bombardment since the Hamas assault on its territory on 7th October, killed more than 1,400 people, withContinue reading “Eyeless in Gaza”

In Bakhmut

Hugh Barnes watches a funeral on TV It was a Monday in September and all eyes were glued to a televised funeral. But the ceremony was taking place a thousand miles away from Westminster Abbey, at the National Opera House in Kyiv, mourning the loss of a 47-year-old Ukrainian ballet dancer. Oleksandr Shapoval, its principalContinue reading “In Bakhmut”

Killing time in Palestine

By Toby Abse What the mainstream media generally describe as ‘the war between Israel and Hamas’ has in reality amounted to a massacre of Palestinian civilians. Around two thirds of the 29,410 Gazan dead (22nd February 2024) have been women and children. Unlike the Israel Defence Force (IDF), and unlike the more secular Palestinian armedContinue reading “Killing time in Palestine”

Smart bombs and dumb animals: Afghan war goes back to the future

By Hugh Barnes KABUL, 13 Nov 2001 (AFP) – The American spy had come to Afghanistan all kitted out for the first war of the 21st century, a rucksack bulging with hi-tech gadgets and gizmos – and then he jumped on his horse. Smart bombs and dumb animals have been the two main ingredients ofContinue reading “Smart bombs and dumb animals: Afghan war goes back to the future”