Russians pounding Ukraine, but Mariupol’s no Aleppo — yet

By LORNE COOK
Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — Russia’s airstrike on a children’s and maternity hospital in Ukraine is stirring memories of the Kremlin’s past aerial campaigns waged in Chechnya and Syria. For now, comparisons with the destruction of the Chechen capital of Grozny, or Aleppo in northern Syria, are premature: The invasion of Ukraine is only in its third week, and military analysts say that Russia is still not pressing its aerial advantage. Grozny was flattened in two wars between 1994 and 2000. Russian air power also helped President Bashar Assad during Syria’s civil war. The damage was inflicted relentlessly over years. Russia’s war on Ukraine has barely begun, but it is off to an ominous start.