A new United Nations report documents how the Russian air force deliberately destroyed a hospital in Idlib governorate, Syria. Released on Tuesday, the report rightly identifies this and similar actions as “war crimes.”

There’s nothing particularly new about the news that Russia has been deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure in Syria. In support of Bashar Assad’s dictatorship, Vladimir Putin’s forces have repeatedly targeted civilians. Destroying hospitals in Idlib is a particularly favored pastime of the Russian air force. This is no accident. The targeting is designed to maximize civilian suffering so as to pressure those fighting Assad to surrender. Moscow also sees these war crimes as useful in pressuring the international community to support a negotiated cease-fire to the Syrian civil war that is favorable to Russia.