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Russia ended some 80 years of peace since World War II, the longest break from war on the European mainland in a millennium. But the immediate occasion for the hastily-convened Caucus was the vote on a Ukrainian resolution at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) to condemn Russia’s invasion and demand the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of its military forces from Ukrainian territory — with implications on when peace would return to Europe, for how long, and with what consequences for the rest of the world.

As expected, the non-binding resolution passed, though with a lower margin than in the 2022 voting. What shocked the Caucus was the US joining Russia, Iran, and North Korea, three of the new “Axis of Evil,” in voting against the resolution that its democratic NATO allies supported. Even China, the fourth Axis member, abstained, although it expressed its support for Russia.

The US then proposed a resolution in the Security Council calling for an end to the war, without naming an aggressor. This passed after attempts at amendments to favor Ukraine met with a Russian veto. In angry, anguished statements heavy with historical references, Caucus members spoke of their baffled disbelief, dismay and shame at the “day of…infamy,” when the US pivoted to Russia’s side.

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The Caucus also alluded to the European security conference in Munich in early February that had already evoked memories of a 1938 Munich meeting to avert war between Nazi Germany and Czechoslovakia. In one day of negotiations with Hitler, England and France pressed Czechoslovakia, not present in the session, to surrender the Czech Sudetenland rather than risk war in its defense.

[UK] Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain proclaimed that the Munich Pact had secured “peace in our time.” That peace lasted six months, ending with Germany’s occupation of Czechoslovakia. Six months later, Hitler blitzkrieged Poland and, after another six months, attacked Denmark and Norway. Munich and Chamberlain became identified with the policy of appeasement, based on the hope that concessions would satisfy Hitler and prevent war.

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These statements [by US officials falsly] denied the truth the world had seen, and embraced the lie that Zelenskyy, not Putin, was the dictator who started the war. Putin’s track record was already comparable to Hitler’s: the violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty; targeted bombing of population centers and infrastructure; torture and killing of combatants and civilians; abduction of children and their export to Russia. These offenses led the International Criminal Court to indict Putin for war crimes.

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The news from Kyiv on July 8 about another attack on Ukrainian cities, with missiles hitting medical infrastructure – including Ukraine's largest children's hospital – is shocking. Alas, these events come as no surprise when we look at how attacking hospitals is not unintentional, but part of a strategy Russia has deployed before.

We saw this in Syria following Moscow’s 2015 intervention. If the trend in Ukraine continues, it is plausible that the Russian army will continue to use its toolbox that we have already seen in Syrian cities.

Russia sent military forces to support President Bashar al-Assad's regime at a time when Syrian rebels were mere miles away from the presidential palace in Damascus. Taking advantage of the civil war, Moscow expanded its existing positions and built new bases for its forces deep inside Syrian territory, which are still active today. These bases played an important role in stabilizing the Syrian regime and pushing rebels out of many areas of the country.

The firm foothold in Syria that the Russian army, together with Iran, built over three years came the cost of civilian casualties and destruction. This alliance with Tehran is active once again in Ukraine, as Iranian-origin drones targeted civilian infrastructure in Ukrainian cities.

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The Kremlin provided diplomatic cover to the Assad regime after Damascus used chemical weapons against its own citizens. Furthermore, Russia targeted hospitals and other critical infrastructure, including those whose coordinates were shared with the Russian command by the UN, to undermine the morale of rebel forces and force them to disperse.

Russia is trying to do the same in Ukraine today, acting with special brutality when its war is not going to plan. The Russian army is attacking civilian areas to disperse the resources of the Ukrainian forces currently concentrated along the front. Moscow knows that Ukraine needs additional air defense systems to defend its cities and skies, and it is exploiting this weakness with devastating consequences.

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Attacks on hospitals and other infrastructure will not stop even if there are negotiations. The purpose of the invasion of Ukraine was to seize, occupy, and exploit territory that Russia believes is its own, not to sit around a table talking.

Attacks like the one on the children's hospital in Kyiv and the medical center in Dnipro are just part of this strategy and should remind Ukraine's allies – some of whom have wavered – that Kyiv urgently needs military support and guarantees that it will be able to defend its skies. Reality is not just knocking at the door – it is blowing up cities.