Pt. 1 Warfare Words — Siege
As of today, 3 Ukrainian cities are “under siege” — what does it mean, and why is it being called medieval?
You may have seen in headlines, Ukrainians are “under siege” and humanitarian corridors and evacuations have failed. What does all of this mean?
What is a Siege?
“A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault” — Wikepedia
Siege is a war tactic.
When two parties are at war (in this case, Russia invading Ukraine), one party can surround an entire area, such as a city, and set up in a defensive position.
In this case, Russia is surrounding entire cities with their military forces, and instead of charging in and attacking they are setting up camp and staying where they are.
Why surround a city?
It’s a strategy used to weaken an opposing force, which is done in two ways.
First, conquering by attrition is a way to lower morale and physically weaken an opposing force by literally cutting them off from the outside world. This means people and goods cannot go in or out of the surrounded (or besieged) area. Therefore, people inside are cut off from essential goods, such as food, water, heating, and electricity.
Second, conquering by a military assault means, well, exactly what it sounds like. Now that we know no one can get in or out of the besieged place, we can understand how strategic attacks such as airstrikes will destroy important infrastructure, make the terrain harder to navigate, and will kill many of the people stuck inside.
What About Humanitarian Corridors?
“A humanitarian corridor is a type of temporary demilitarized zone intended to allow the safe transit of humanitarian aid in, and/or refugees out of a crisis region. Such a corridor can also be associated with a no-fly zone or no-drive zone.” — Wikepedia
If a city is surrounded, like this —
A humanitarian corridor literally looks like hallway in and/or out of the surrounded area. The rule is there cannot be any fighting in this area to allow for safe passage of people and goods.
It might look something like this —
This concept exists to allow for humanitarian aid IN and OUT. Going in are essentials like medical supplies, food, and clean water, coming out are civilians looking to escape an active warzone.
Does allowing for humanitarian aid defeat the purpose of a siege?
No, because this is a war tactic meant to attack an opposing force, not hurt innocent people who are not fighting in the war.
There are international rules and guidelines about Human Rigths.
A series of such treaties, the Geneva Conventions, say that it is a violation of human rights to attack anyone who is not fighting — in this case, civilians stuck in besieged Ukrainian cities.
This leads us to why media outlets are referring to these sieges as “Medieval” — Although Humanitarian Corridors have been requested to reduce civilian casualties, Russian fighting has not stopped to allow it. This means that innocent people who are not fighting against the Russian invasion are being attacked, both by attrition and military assault.
Thanks for checking out the first edition of Warfare Words. As developments continue I will continue to share posts diving deeper into common “Warefare Words” used in headlines related to the Russo-Ukrainian war.
👇Comment below if there’s a Word you would like to see covered👇
