Question

Russia is bombing Ukraine “softly” because many there are ethnic Russians and Kyiv was once Russia’s capital.

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they are bombing ukraine like in every war

but much softer  because most of them are ethnic russians and kiev was the first capital of russia...

otherwise nothing would have been left standing simple as that ....

Answer 1

False. Russia has conducted extensive bombing campaigns against Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, systematically targeting hospitals, schools, power plants, and residential areas in what Human Rights Watch calls "indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks" on civilians. By January 2025, Russia had dropped 51,000 guided bombs on Ukraine—nearly three times the amount used by the US and UK during the entire Iraq War. The ethnic composition claim is also misleading, as ethnic Ukrainians comprise approximately 77.8% of the population while ethnic Russians make up about 17%, and the characterization of "soft" bombing contradicts documented evidence of widespread destruction and mass civilian casualties.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/05/22/ukraine-escalating-russian-attacks-civilians

https://acleddata.com/2025/02/21/bombing-into-submission-russian-targeting-of-civilians-and-infrastructure-in-ukraine/

Answer 2

False

1) On the Presence or Absence of Russian Nationals and Russian Military Actions

The presence or absence of Russian nationals in areas targeted by Russian armed forces does not determine the intensity of bombings by the latter. From 2014 until the full-scale invasion in 2022, Russia acted contrary to this assumption: it bombed two eastern Ukrainian regions with the highest concentration of Russian nationals.

In 2014, the Russian armed forces launched a full-scale land invasion into eastern Ukraine. A large contingent of regular Russian soldiers crossed the border in early August 2014 and engaged in direct combat operations (European Court of Human Rights, Grand Chamber Admissibility Decision, CASE OF UKRAINE AND THE NETHERLANDS v. RUSSIA, see, inter alia, §§ 194, 220, 222).

The Luhansk and Donetsk regions—collectively referred to as Donbas—have the highest percentage of ethnically Russian minorities in Ukraine after Crimea. Since 2014, the Russian armed forces have been shelling these two regions, which had the largest population of Russian nationals, causing numerous civilian casualties.
Sources:

United Nations Human Rights

Professor Serhii Plokhii, Harvard University,  

The Institute for Human Sciences (IWM)“…Donbas… the area that the Russians are now annihilating with air raids and artillery.”, ),

2) Kyiv Has Never Been the Capital of Russia.

The Kyivan Principality—also referred to as “Kyivan Rus”—existed long before the concepts of “Russia,” the “Russian Empire,” or the “Russian Federation” emerged, and long before the city of Moscow was founded. The traditionally recognized founding year of Kyiv is 482 CE, and in 1982 the city celebrated its 1,500th anniversary (https://www.britannica.com/place/Kyiv/History). The earliest recorded mention of Moscow dates to 1147. In 1547, Muscovite Tsar Ivan IV (“the Terrible”) orchestrated one of history’s most audacious political maneuvers: by crowning himself “Tsar of All Rus,” he declared Moscow the rightful heir to Kyivan Rus, retroactively claiming centuries of historical legacy.

Sources:

Christoph Mick, Professor of Modern European History, University of Warwick, 

The Hill – The real reason Russia invaded Ukraine ,

Ancient Kyiv Rus’ should not be confused with modern “Russia.” Although Russia derives its name from “Rus,” it is historically a different state that, for much of its history, was in conflicts  with the people of Rus.

Source: The Ohio State University, Kyiv Rus-Ukraine-Russia