TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2023//
TI  - Russia's attacks on civilians strengthen Ukrainian resistance
JO  - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences nexus
A1  - Bartusevičius, Henrikas
A1  - van Leeuwen, Florian
A1  - Mazepus, Honorata
A1  - Laustsen, Lasse
A1  - Tollefsen, Andreas Forø
SP  - pgad386
EP  - pgad386
VL  - 2
IS  - 12
N2  - The all-out Russian invasion of Ukraine commencing in February 2022 has been characterized by systematic violence against civilians. Presumably, the commanders of Russian forces believe that, for example, the bombing of residential buildings will force Ukrainians to lay down their arms. We ask whether military attacks against civilians deter or, in contrast, motivate resistance against the attackers. Two-wave probability surveys were collected in Ukraine in March and April 2022 (Ns = 1,081 and 811, respectively). Preregistered analyses indicate that perceptions and experience of military attacks (victimization) did not decrease Ukrainians' motivations to resist the invading forces. The analyses suggest that victimization positively relates to motivations to join military combat in defense positions. Military attacks against civilians are morally impermissible and prohibited under international humanitarian law. Our results suggest that such attacks are also counterproductive from a military perspective.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 2752-6542
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad386
ID  - ref1
ER  -