Are Countries Ignoring the Laws of War? : State of the World from NPR

Ukrainian emergency workers respond at the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital in the capital Kyiv after it was hit by a Russian missile on July 8.

Alex Babenko/AP

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Alex Babenko/AP

Ukrainian emergency workers respond at the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital in the capital Kyiv after it was hit by a Russian missile on July 8.

Alex Babenko/AP

There are rules and norms in place in conflicts meant to shield civilians from the worst harms of war. But human rights groups say lately they’re being ignored or broken. Our correspondent has been covering two wars in which many of the laws of war are being flouted.