‘Cascade of Cruelty’

The Truth Hounds team, in collaboration with the Syrian humanitarian organization White Helmets, conducted a thorough study, “Cascade of Cruelty: An Analysis of Russian Double Strike Tactics in Ukraine”, and confirmed a close connection between the practice of double strikes by the Russians in Syria and Ukraine.

Double strikes are a tactic that has become widespread in modern wars, particularly during Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. The essence of these attacks is that sometime after the first strike, a second one follows, targeting rescuers, medics, and others assisting victims of the first strike.

The study confirms the escalation of double strikes: in 2024, the number of double strikes was almost twice as large as their volume during the prior period of the full-scale invasion.

Systematic Pattern of Attacks

Truth Hounds conducted six field missions to document the progress and impact of specific double strikes. The missions occurred in Kharkiv, Cherkasskaya Lozova, Pokrovsk, Zaporizhia, Odesa, and Khmelnytskyi.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 through August 31, 2024, Truth Hounds researchers have verified 36 double strikes, though the actual number is likely to be over 60. These attacks follow a clear pattern: an initial strike is followed by a second strike, sometimes timed to coincide with the arrival of emergency services, typically within 10 minutes to several hours of the initial strike.

This year, there has been a clear trend toward an increase in the frequency of such strikes. From January to late August 2024, Truth Hounds verified 20 instances of double strikes, more than the combined total for 2022 and 2023, indicating a disturbing escalation in using this tactic in armed conflict. The rapid increase in double strikes coincides with the appointment of new leadership to Russia’s missile forces, including Lieutenant General Dmitry Klimenko as Commander of the Missile Forces and Artillery.

In at least 20 of the 36 attacks analyzed, rescue workers were killed or wounded.

Open-source information shows that such double strikes occurred when Russian forces could confirm the arrival of first responders and other civilians at the strike site.

The study shows that Russian forces use a wide range of weapons to conduct double strikes, including ballistic (9M723) and cruise (9M727/9M728/9M729) missiles launched from the Iskander operational-tactical missile system, cannon and rocket artillery, including the Grad MLRS and S-300 system, as well as attack drones such as the Shahed and FPV.

Targets of Double Strike

Double strikes systematically target emergency services workers, who are usually the first to arrive and spend a long time at the scene of an attack. Police officers documenting the attacks have also suffered significant casualties, as have medical personnel providing medical care. In addition, journalists covering the aftermath and residents trying to rescue the wounded have repeatedly fallen victim to double strikes.

Syrian scenario

The use of double strikes has become a common practice during the Syrian civil war. The Syria Justice and Accountability Centre (SJAC) has documented 58 cases of double strikes that occurred between 2013 and 2021. These strikes in Syria not only aimed to harm civilians but also targeted rescuers, including the Syrian Civil Defense, commonly known as the “White Helmets,” which has been providing vital humanitarian services in the face of great danger since its establishment in 2014. The deliberate use of double strikes has further complicated their role in rescuing civilians from airstrikes and other attacks. In 2023, the White Helmets reported that since the beginning of their operations, 306 of their rescuers had been killed by Syrian and Russian forces, mainly as a result of double strikes during rescue operations.

That is why representatives of the Truth Hounds and White Helmets organizations call on the international community to take decisive measures in response to the growing practice of double strikes carried out by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, especially in the context of the ongoing armed conflict in Ukraine. This escalation appears to be a consequence of the inadequate international response to similar actions by Russian forces in Syria and the impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators of these attacks.

The current situation highlights a critical pattern: impunity for international crimes facilitates their repetition, putting civilians at greater risk. The absence of effective measures to counter such violations undermines international norms and only encourages perpetrators to commit further criminal acts.

The tactics of double strikes result in significant civilian casualties and often grossly violate international humanitarian law. Our research confirms that Russia is deliberately using these tactics to harm civilians and humanitarian workers.

Russia’s double strikes in Ukraine and Syria share a common goal: to increase the suffering of the victims of the initial attacks and to physically kill those whose duty it is to assist, thus undermining the ability of the Ukrainian and Syrian people to resist.

Legal Analysis

The legal analysis establishes that Russia’s double strikes constitute war crimes under several provisions of the Rome Statute. In the case of exclusively civilian targets, both the first and second strikes violate Articles 8(2)(b)(i) and 8(2)(b)(ii).

The systematic targeting of first responders, primarily medical and civil defense personnel, is a separate violation of Article 8(2)(b)(xxiv), which prohibits attacks on persons wearing the insignia of the Geneva Conventions.

Even in cases where initial strikes are directed at military targets, the documented pattern of using reconnaissance assets to time subsequent strikes demonstrates a clear intent to maximize civilian casualties and target protected persons. The correlation between the appointment of new missile leadership and the increase in the frequency of such attacks suggests a political decision to employ these tactics.

The systematic nature of these attacks, documented in Syria and Ukraine, as well as Russian military propaganda openly encouraging the targeting of emergency personnel, demonstrate both knowledge and intent at the command level. This pattern of deliberate targeting of protected persons and objects requires immediate accountability through domestic and international legal mechanisms.

The legal analysis confirms that these attacks are a clear violation of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law and require an urgent international response to prevent such tactics from becoming normalized in modern warfare.

Source: Cascade of Cruelty: An Analysis of Russia’s Double Strike Tactics in Ukraine