Russia and Pakistan Strike Civilians as Mali Rebels, Army Kill 80+ in New Wave of Attacks
A series of devastating attacks across Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Mali have left over 100 civilians dead this week, as Russian missiles batter Ukrainian cities, Pakistani airstrikes hit Afghan border provinces, and Malian forces and Islamist rebels massacre villagers in coordinated violence.
Russian missile and drone strikes killed at least 11 civilians and wounded 40 others in Ukraine on Monday, targeting the country’s already crippled energy grid during a severe heatwave with temperatures exceeding 36 degrees Celsius [184856]. President Volodymyr Zelensky described the attacks as “horrific,” while the damage to Ukraine’s energy network since Russia’s 2022 invasion has cost tens of billions of dollars [184856].
In Afghanistan, Pakistani airstrikes killed at least 28 civilians, according to United Nations reports, with the Taliban government calling the strikes an “atrocity” [184776]. Afghan officials reported that the strikes hit multiple locations in Khost and Kunar provinces, killing women and children, though Pakistan claimed it was targeting militants near the shared border [184776][184402].
In Mali, Islamist armed groups and government forces have committed serious abuses since fighting escalated in April 2026, according to Human Rights Watch [184358]. The al-Qaeda-linked group JNIM killed 13 civilians and wounded at least 25 in the northern cities of Gao and Kidal, then announced a “total siege” of the capital, Bamako, threatening to kill civilians who tried to enter or leave [184358]. In reprisal, Malian soldiers and their Russian allies from Africa Corps killed 38 Fulani civilians—including 23 children—in the village of Sarkala Werè on May 14, burning homes and looting livestock [184358]. Witnesses said no fighters were in the village at the time, and the attack targeted residents solely because of their ethnicity [184358]. Human Rights Watch also documented two apparent military drone strikes that killed civilians: one on April 25 killed 12 children and teenagers bathing in a river in Guimbé, and another on May 17 killed 10 people, including the groom, at a wedding celebration in Tené [184358]. JNIM fighters burned more than 40 civilian vehicles heading to Bamako in early May, accusing passengers of violating the siege, and publicly executed a Quranic teacher on May 21 [184358].
Separately, local sources and a human rights group reported that Malian soldiers and Russian operatives killed four civilian herders near Timbuktu, then arranged one of the bodies into the shape of a swastika [181557]. Russia’s Africa Corps, which took over from the Wagner group a year ago, is facing new allegations of executions and gruesome staging [184065].