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The Cabinet Committee on Security has cleared Indian Navy’s proposals to buy 220 BrahMos extended-range missiles for its warships worth around Rs 20,000 crore.

• The extended-range BrahMos is speculated to have an extended range of around 800 km.

About BrahMos Missile

• The term “BrahMos” is created by combining the names of two rivers: the Brahmaputra in India and the Moskva in Russia.
• BrahMos Aerospace is a collaborative effort between India and Russia.
• BRAHMOS is a Two-Stage Missile.
  • First Stage: Solid-Propelent booster Engine
  • Second Stage: Liquid Ramjet
• Speed: Up to 3 Mach speed in cruise phase. 
• BrahMos Missile Range: The missile can travel up to 290 kilometres at supersonic speeds throughout its flight.
• Altitude: 
  • Cruising up to 15 km and 
  • Terminal altitude is as low as 10 meters.
• Warhead Capacity: It carries a conventional warhead weighing 200 to 300 kgs.
• The missile has an identical configuration for land, sea and sub-sea platforms and uses a Transport Launch Canister (TLC) for transportation, and storage.
• Stealth technology and guidance system with advanced embedded software provide the missile with special features.

Special Features

• Universal for multiple platforms.
• “Fire and Forget principle of operation.
• High supersonic speed all through the flight.
• Long flight range with varieties of flight trajectories.
• Low radar signature.
• Shorter flight times leading to lower target dispersion and quicker engagement.
• Pinpoint accuracy with high lethal power aided by large kinetic energy on impact.

News Source: The Hindu

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A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between IIT Kanpur and Conlis Global (Canada based- biotech company)  for the licensing of the new technology that facilitates bone regeneration.

Bone Regeneration Technology: By IIT Kanpur

• Technology Name: The technology is titled ‘Nano Hydroxyapatite-Based Porous Polymer Composite Scaffolds for Bioactive Molecule Delivery in Musculoskeletal Regeneration’. 
• Principle: The technology facilitates bone regeneration in a biocompatible manner by acting as a carrier for bone-active biomolecules, delivering them directly to the site of an implant:
• Developed By: Prof. Ashok Kumar and his team from the Department of Biological Sciences & Bioengineering at IIT Kanpur developed the technology.

Features of Bone Regeneration Technology

• The Nano-Hydroxyapatite-based Porous Composite Scaffolds are biodegradable.
• It has two main properties for bone regeneration
  • Osteoinductive (bone healing process).

• • Osteopromotive (material for new bone growth).
• Biocompatible: The material is safe and promotes good interaction with bone-building cells (osteoblasts).
• Strong and Functional: It combines high mechanical strength with optimized interaction between its components.
• Large Defect Repair: Suitable for filling significant bone defects without compromising essential features like connectivity, structure, oxygen supply, and blood flow.
• Enhanced Healing: Promotes tissue formation, mineralisation, and faster healing of bone defects.

Benefits Of Bone Regeneration Technology

• Body-Friendly Material:

  • Safe body material: The scaffolds are made from materials that are safe for the body, reducing the chances of causing harm or discomfort.
    • This allows bone-building cells called osteoblasts to work better and promote bone growth.

• Improved Bone Growth:

  • Structure: The scaffolds have tiny pores that provide a suitable environment for cells to attach, grow, and differentiate, resembling the natural bone structure.
  • Enhancement of bone formation and strength: They also contain nano-hydroxyapatite, similar to the mineral component of bones, which enhances bone formation and strength.

• Controlled Drug Delivery:

  • Bone healing aid: These scaffolds can carry special medicines or growth factors that aid bone healing.
  • Minimal side effects: These medicines are released slowly at the injury site, ensuring targeted delivery and effectiveness while minimizing side effects.

• Addressing Large Bone Defects:

  • Filling large holes in the body: Due to their strength and ability to carry medicines, these scaffolds can effectively fill large holes in bones caused by injuries or diseases.

• Faster Healing and Better Recovery:

• • Accelerated healing process: By promoting cell growth and delivering medicines directly to the injured area, these scaffolds can accelerate the healing process of bone injuries.
    • This leads to quicker recovery times and improved patient outcomes, reducing their reliance on prolonged medical treatment.

Drawbacks Of Bone Regeneration Technology

• Risk of Unexpected Immune Response:

  • While these materials are generally considered safe for the body, there’s a possibility of the body reacting negatively to them, leading to inflammation or rejection.

• Limited Data on Long-Term Effectiveness: 

• • Although initial studies are promising, there’s not enough long-term data on how well these scaffolds work and how safe they are for humans. Therefore, there is a need for more clinical trials. 

News Source: Hindustan Times

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The Climate and Clean Air Conference 2024 emphasized global cooperation to eliminate short lived climate pollutants, such as methane, black carbon, and hydrofluorocarbons.

Climate and Clean Air Conference 2024: Key Highlights

• In the conference, there is a provision for the development of a shared agenda in key carbon emitting sectors such as fossil fuels, agriculture, heavy-duty vehicles, engines, and cooling and waste. 

About Short Lived Climate Pollutants:

• They are also known as Super Pollutants.
• Short lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) are greenhouse gases and air pollutants that have a significant impact on climate change and air quality.
• Short lived climate pollutants are responsible for up to 45% of current global warming.
• These pollutants stay in the atmosphere for a shorter time than carbon dioxide
  • SLCPs can have a much stronger warming effect than carbon dioxide.

Policy Framework for Short Lived Climate Pollutants on the International Level

• Paris Agreement’s: The main objective of this agreement is to keep low temperatures below 2 degrees. 
• Kyoto Protocol: Its main objective is the reduction of global warming. 
  • It covers 7 greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) and Nitrogen Triflouride (NF3).
• International Gothenburg Protocol: This protocol deals with the issue of air pollution. 
• Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (Montreal Protocol): This protocol addresses the issue of ozone depletion by substances such as hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs). 

Benefits of Taking Action On Short Lived Climate Pollutants:

• Improved air quality: Eliminating super pollutants can improve air quality worldwide. 
• Health Benefits: Removing short-lived pollutants will lead to significant health benefits and save millions of lives, especially among children suffering from asthma.
• Food security: Protecting crops from pollutants like tropospheric ozone can enhance food security.

Drawbacks

While addressing short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) has significant benefits, there are also some drawbacks and challenges associated with taking action on them:

• Incomplete Mitigation:

• • SLCPs, such as methane and black carbon, have shorter atmospheric lifetimes than long-lived greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO₂).
  • Despite their potency, reducing SLCPs alone won’t fully mitigate long-term climate change. 
• Removal of cooling and warming aerosols: Intensified Global action on air pollution can be beneficial for air pollution removal, but it is causing the elimination of both cooling and warming aerosols. 
  • This can lead to new heat extremes.
• Complex Interactions between pollutants and climate:
  • The interactions between SLCPs and other pollutants are intricate.
  • For example, reducing black carbon (which warms the climate) may inadvertently impact cloud formation and regional weather patterns.
• Inadequate funding: There is little funding for action against less high-profile pollutants like nitrous oxide and black carbon.
• Regional Variability:
• • SLCP impacts vary by region. Some pollutants have more pronounced effects in specific areas.

Other Agreements to Remove Super Pollutants From the Atmosphere.

• Kigali Amendment : The Kigali Agreement is a global deal that aims to decrease consumption and production of HFCs. 
• The Montreal Protocol: It is a global treaty that aims to protect the depletion of ozone layer by reducing the production of the substances that impact ozone depletion. 
• The Global Methane Pledge: This pledge was launched in 2021 at COP26 for reducing methane emission by at least 30% below 2020 levels by 2030.

News Source: Down to Earth

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In the Raisina Dialogue 2024, the Chief of Defense staff Of India discussed the emergence of Grey Zone warfare in modern warfare.  

About Grey Zone Warfare

• Definition: Grey Zone Warfare has emerged as a battlefield-centric concept and is defined as the use of coercive measures to exploit the operational space between peace and war, that deliberately stay below a threshold so as not to prompt a conventional military response to alter the status quo which otherwise would have been attracted.
  • In grey zone warfare the dividend of the action is available only after a long time. The origin of this lies in a historical dispute that the aggressor nation justifies with their modern revisionist claims. 

• Methods: Grey Zone Warfare is characterized by sub-threshold activities including kinetic and non-kinetic methods  by conventional military force and irregular proxies. 
  • Kinetic: It is the use of proxies for on-ground action or change of territorial status quo through coercion or militarisation of disputed features.
    • Example: China’s action in the South China Sea or Russia’s invasion of Crimea 
  • Non-kinetic: These are provocative actions such as cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, election meddling, weaponisation of migrants,  coercive use of trade and economic levers

• Characteristics Of Grey Zone Warfare

• • Below the threshold of armed conflict: The grey zone activities remain below the threshold of igniting a full-fledged military offensive as a justified response,  often through the use of non-military tools.
    • Example: Russia attack on Crimea and China’s action in South China sea is  example of grey zone warfare
  • Progressive  unfolding of aggressive moves: The strategy followed here is aggressive-passive resistance being dragged over decades to keep the dispute alive on the one hand while also providing a false narrative of engaging in talks to resolve the dispute, thus deterring a decisive response.
    • Example: China’s use of the Salami Slicing tactics to change territorial status quo with its neighbours
  • Risk  of escalation: Grey zone aggression uses the risk of escalation as a source of coercive leverage and deter a decisive response.
    • Example: Chinese and Pakistan  Incursion in the northern Himalayan borders of India.  
  • Lack of attributability: The aggressor country can simply deny their involvement and deflect response  in most of the grey zone campaign which obstruct the potential for successful deterrence as it can simply shake of their  responsibility.
    • Example: Cyberattacks or disinformation campaigns or the use of proxy forces, election meddling ( Russia in USA elections)
  • Targeting specific vulnerabilities: The grey zone campaigns target specific vulnerabilities in the targeted countries with targeted campaigns aimed at creating chaos.
    • Example: Funding terrorism and insurgency in other countries by arming splinter groups.
  • Strategic ambiguity: Strong responses appears to be counterproductive as the aggressive country takes advantage of the strategic ambiguity in relations whereby there is a competing  strategic, economic and domestic political reasons to not engage in full fledged conflict.
    • Example: India’s ban of Chinese applications in the wake of Doklam stand off is not considered a strong response by India.

News Source: The Hindu

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Recently, India’s Defence Minister held a bilateral meeting with his counterpart on the sidelines of the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi.

India and Netherlands Discuss Bilateral Defence Cooperation On the sidelines of Raisina Dialogue

• Discussion Held On: 

• • To Enhance Bilateral Defense cooperation, particularly in Maritime security and Industrial collaboration.
  • Mutual interest in Bolstering Maritime security efforts in the Indian Ocean Region.
  • To Integrate Indian vendors into the supply chains of Dutch Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). 
  • To leverage Indian and Dutch synergies in Skills, Technology, and High-tech industries such as Semiconductors and Clean energy.

India Netherlands Relations

• Political ties: The year 2022 commemorated the 75th anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties. 
• Economic: In the F.Y. 2022-23: It was India’s 5th largest foreign investor and reached a record high FDI equity inflow of USD 2.498 billion. 
• Security, Indo-Pacific: Both sides recognize the close convergence between each other’s vision for a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific. 
• Technology and Startups: Initiatives such as The Hague Tech highlight bilateral cooperation in technology and innovation and collaborative projects in artificial intelligence and high-tech sectors.
• Agriculture: To Establish Centers of Excellence, 25 CoEs by 2025 in the Agri sector, 7 out of which are already functional.
• Renewable Energy and Sustainable Development: The Netherlands joined the International Solar Alliance (ISA) & Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).
• Cultural Cooperation: International Day of Yoga 2021 celebrations took place in a hybrid format on 19 June 2021. 
• Diaspora: The Netherlands hosts the second largest Indian Diaspora (after the UK) in Europe and the largest on mainland Europe. 

News Source: PIB

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The Central government ammended Surrogacy Rules 2022 and allowed couples with medical conditions to use donor gametes for surrogacy.

Why Were the Surrogacy Rules 2022 Modified?

• Gamete Source Flexibility: The Central government has modified the Surrogacy (Regulation) Rules, 2022 and notified that both gametes need not come from a married couple in case they are certified as suffering from a medical condition.
• Couple Requirement: As per the latest amendment, the couple can have a child born through surrogacy but must have at least one gamete from the intending couple.
• Single Women Requirement: Single Women (widow or divorcee) undergoing surrogacy must use self-eggs and donor sperm to avail of surrogacy procedures.

What Is Surrogacy? 

• Surrogacy is a contractual undertaking whereby the surrogate mother agrees to conceive a child through artificial insemination with the sperm of the natural father and to terminate all of her parental rights after the child’s birth.

Types of Surrogacy

• Altruistic Surrogacy: When the surrogate offers to carry the child of the commissioning couple in her womb purely out of love and empathy for their need to have a child
• Commercial Surrogacy: When money is paid to the surrogate for her services, it is taken as an act of commercialisation.

What Are the Surrogacy regulations Rules for 2021? 

• Definition: A practice where a woman gives birth to a child for an intending couple to hand over the child after the birth to the intending couple.
• Individuals or couples who fall within specific criteria may pursue surrogacy for medical reasons.
  • Eligible parties include widowed or divorced women aged between 35 and 45 years, as well as legally married couples.
• The law strictly prohibits commercial surrogacy, imposing severe penalties such as imprisonment for up to 10 years and fines of up to Rs 10 lakhs.

Surrogacy Regulations in India 

• Prohibits: Commercial surrogacy
• Permits: Altruistic surrogacy for intending couples who suffer from proven infertility
• Rights of surrogate child: A child born out of surrogacy procedure, shall be deemed to be a biological child of the intended couple or intending woman.
• Prohibition of abortion: At any stage of surrogacy except in such conditions as may be prescribed.

Eligibility Criteria for Surrogate Mother

• Any Close relative of the couple willing to do surrogacy
• A married woman with a child of her own
• Required Age of Women: 25 to 35 years old
• Women can surrogate only once in her lifetime
• Possess a certificate of medical and psychological fitness for surrogacy
• The surrogate mother cannot provide her gametes for surrogacy.

Other Important Provisions of Surrogacy in India

• Commercial Surrogacy: It bans commercial surrogacy, and makes it a non-bailable offense with imprisonment extending to 10 years and with a fine of up to 10 lakh rupees.
• The Intending Couple: Must be an Indian man and woman, legally married, within the specified age groups with no surviving biological, adopted, or surrogate child, and must suffer from a medical indication necessitating gestational surrogacy.
• An Intending Woman: Must be a widow or divorcee within the specified age group.

News Source: The Hindu 

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Recently, the Plasma Analyser Package for Aditya (PAPA) payload onboard the Aditya-L1 detected solar wind impact of Coronal Mass Ejections.

PAPA Payload: Plasma Analyser Package For Aditya

• PAPA payload is an energy and mass analyzer.
• Purpose: Designed for in-situ measurements of solar wind electrons and ions in the low energy range. 

What Are Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs)?

• Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) are large expulsions of plasma and magnetic fields from the Sun’s corona into space. 
• CMEs often look like huge, twisted ropes, which scientists call “flux ropes.”
• Frequency of Occurrence: It varies with the year’s solar cycle, (during solar minimum & Solar maximum).
• Effect:  Various ground- and space-based technologies, including satellites, on the Earth. 
• Their magnetic fields merge between the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) and geomagnetic field lines. This can result in significant increases in the rate of energy transfer from the solar wind and the magnetosphere. 
  • Because of this, CMEs are among the most important drivers of geomagnetic storms and substorms. 
  • These substorms cause the beautiful northern and southern auroral light often seen in the night sky at high latitudes.
• Wide range of plasma temperatures: It exhibits from cold chromospheric material (around 104 K) to hot plasma (around 107 K). 
• As CMEs propagate through space, various processes can exchange energy, including electrical, kinetic, potential, and thermal, which can either heat or cool the plasma within them. 
• Significance of Studying CMEs: For assessing their impact on Earth’s communication systems.

News Source: The Hindu

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Armenia has suspended its participation in a Russia-led security bloc, CSTO, due to differences with other member states.

Armenia’s Suspension of Its Participation in CSTO

• In a conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the non-interference of Russia took the relations between both nations to a new low.
• When Russian peacekeepers did not intervene to stop Azerbaijan from taking control of Nagorno-Karabakh from the Armenian separatists, the relations between both nations soured.

CSTO: Collective Security Treaty Organization

• CSTO is an intergovernmental military alliance in Eurasia formed in 2002.
• Members: Total 6
  • Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.
  • Uzbekistan joined in 2006 and then withdrew again in 2012.
• Objective: To strengthen regional and international security and to maintain peace including cybersecurity and stability of the member states.
• Reaction to US presence: It has been building its capacity since the 2000s as a reaction to the US military presence in Central Asia.
• Legal Framework: It enacted the legal framework for Russian military bases in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, allowed members to buy weapons at the Russian domestic rate, and pursued a common air defence system.
  • Decision-making is greatly influenced by Russia.
  • The organization features a rotating chairmanship and an interparliamentary assembly.

Historical Background of CSTO: Collective Security Treaty Organisation

• The CSTO originates from the conclusion of the Collective Security Treaty, which was signed in Tashkent (Uzbekistan) on May 15, 1992, by the heads of Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
• Later, it was joined by Azerbaijan, Belarus, and Georgia (1993).
• The treaty entered into force upon completion of the national ratification procedures on April 

News Source: The Hindu

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This article is based on the news “Two years on, global support for Ukraine won’t falter” which was published in the Indian Express. Two years into the Russia Ukraine War, there appears little signs of de-escalations and ceasefire.

Current Status of Russia Ukraine War

• Russia Ukraine War: Multidimensional Sanctions on Russia

• • On Russia’s Financial Sector and Payment Systems

    • Mir Payment System: Sanctions are targeted to disrupt Russia’s efforts to evade earlier sanctions and maintain international financial transactions.
      • Mir is a payment system from Russia. It was launched in 2017.
    • Russian Banks and Financial Institutions: Sanctions are imposed on over a dozen entities including banks, investment firms, venture capital funds, and fintech companies, notably SPB Bank.

• • Energy Sector and Military Industrial Base

    • Arctic-2 LNG Project: Sanctions have been targeted on specific entities involved in the development and operation of Arctic-2 LNG Project. It aims to cut off resources for future energy production. 
    • Sanctions Evasion Networks: Sanctions are imposed on entities based in China, Turkey, UAE, Kazakhstan, and Liechtenstein for facilitating Russia’s evasion of sanctions and supporting its military infrastructure.

  • Human Rights Violations During Russia Ukraine War

    • Officials Linked to Navalny’s Death: Sanctioning of Russian Federal Penitentiary Service officials connected to the opposition leader’s death.
      • Alexei Navalny is a prominent Russian opposition leader, anti-corruption activist, and politician.
    • Forcible Transfer of Ukrainian Children: Targeting individuals involved in the deportation and indoctrination of Ukrainian children to camps in Russia, Belarus, and Crimea.

• Russia Ukraine War: Military and Financial Support to Ukraine

• • US Support: The US has already sent Ukraine $111 billion in weapons, equipment, and humanitarian assistance.
  • EU Support: European Union has recently approved a new €50 billion package for Ukraine. In past two years EU has provided more than €144 billion as aid to Ukraine
  • Security Agreements: Germany and France signed security agreements with Ukraine for the next 10 years, with very significant announcements of additional military aid in 2024.
• Russia’s hidden mobilization: Russian forces have slowly inched forward, capturing the town of Avdiivka recently after a fierce, months-long battle.
  • Ukraine has inflicted heavy losses on Russia in recent fighting around the eastern city of Avdiivka — including 13,000 casualties and over 220 combat vehicles lost.
• Military Stalemate: The Russia Ukraine War has morphed into a grinding war of attrition, with neither side making significant territorial gains in recent months. 
  • Russia controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory, mainly in the east and south.
• Humanitarian Crisis: The Russia Ukraine War has caused a devastating humanitarian crisis, with millions displaced internally and soldiers killed.
  • 315,000 soldiers wounded or killed on the Russian side, while 70,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed and between 100,000 and 120,000 wounded, as per estimates.

Global Impact of the Russia Ukraine War in Two Years:

• Humanitarian Crises During Russia Ukraine War

  • Loss of Lives: As per UN, more than 10,000 civilians have been killed and nearly 20,000 others wounded. Nearly 45,000 Russians have been killed in action since February 2022.
  • Displacement: The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates over 8 million Ukrainian refugees have fled the country, with over 13 million internally displaced.

• Economic Impact During Russia Ukraine War

  • Global Inflation in Food and Energy Markets: The war has disrupted global supply chains, particularly for wheat, oil, and gas, contributing to global inflation and supply chain challenges​​​​.
  • Sanctions and Economic Disruptions: Sanctions against Russia and the damage to Ukraine’s infrastructure have further strained global economic stability.
  • Loss to Ukraine: Ukraine’s economic output is now at a fraction of its pre-war levels. In the first year of the conflict, the country lost 30-35% of GDP leading to largest recession in Ukraine.
    • Its GDP is projected to grow in 2023, if only by 0.5%.
    • Poverty in Ukraine has soared from 5.5% of the population to 24.2% in 2022, according to the World Bank, pushing 7.1 million more people into poverty.
  • Food Security: Ukraine and Russia were the biggest producers in agriculture and food globally. War between these nations has caused issues of food security globally.
  • Loss to Russia: Russia’s economy contracted by 1.2% last year and €300 billion of Russian Central Bank reserves are blocked in the EU, other G7 countries.
    • Around €20 billion of assets of more than 1,500 sanctioned persons and entities have been frozen.

• Geopolitical Impact During Russia Ukraine War

• • Strengthening of NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has been strengthened by Russia’s actions. New countries like Finland and Sweden have joined NATO, and the length of Russian borders with NATO has actually gone up.
  • Global Trust Deficit: The trust deficit between Russia and the West is at an-all time high. Smaller countries have started looking for military arrangements with militarily powerful nations.
  • Failure of UN: The collapse of global rule-based order and the failure of the UN Security Council to achieve ceasefire due to veto by permanent members has raised questions over UN’s role.
  • Russia-China Axis: The economic sanction of Russia and China by a common enemy, the USA has brought the two nations politically and economically closer.
  • Focus on National Interest: The Israel-Gaza war coupled with Russia Ukraine war has brought forth the practical aspect of diplomatic relations where national interests overshadow the diplomatic positions over issues.

Russia Ukraine War: Impacts on India 

• India’s Balanced Relations: Indian policymakers walked on a diplomatic tightrope in balancing the relationship with the West and Russia. They did not join the chorus of condemnation of Russia which paid dividends while evacuating students from Ukraine.
• Access to Russian Crude Oil: India’s practical positions highlighting national interest ensured availability of Russian crude oil and helped contain price shocks.
• Growing interest in the Indo-Pacific and the Quad: There has been a growing pivot towards focus on Indi-Pacific security. This has put India in a strategic position to be a “Net Security Provider”.
• Strengthening China-Russia Relations: Closer Russia-China relations becomes a new challenge for Indian diplomacy.  

Future of the Russia Ukraine War

• No visible end to the Russia Ukraine War: The stalemate between Ukraine and Russia, both on the war ground and negotiation tables is resulting in no visible end to the war. 
• Contradictory Peace Plans: Ukraine’s peace plans are fundamentally premised on a return to the 1991 borders, which is not acceptable to Russia. 
  • Russia, in addition to Ukraine’s military neutrality, is unlikely to cede territories it has already constitutionally incorporated – Crimea (in 2014), and more recently, Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhya.

Conclusion: 

It is imperative for all stakeholders to prioritize dialogue and return to the negotiation table. The escalation of hostilities and violence serves no one’s interests and only exacerbates suffering and instability.

• Furthermore, upholding international principles and jurisprudence is paramount, particularly concerning the safety of civilians and civilian infrastructure during conflicts. Parties involved must adhere to these standards to minimize civilian casualties and protect vital infrastructure.

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