Invaders trying to transform Sievierodonetsk into a new Mariupol – Denisova

"Enemy attacks are constantly being launched in many directions, and settlements come under artillery and MLRS fire. The enemy amasses all its forces to assault Sievierodonetsk, on the outskirts of which battles are constantly taking place. The town is being transformed into a new Mariupol,” Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Liudmyla Denisova posted on Telegram.

She noted that the invaders were trying to encircle the government-controlled part of Luhansk region to ruin the towns which have been defending against the invaders.

According to the Commissioner, on Saturday, the Russians purposefully fired on a school which sheltered about 200 residents of Sievierodonetsk. Three people were killed, and three more were injured.

Denisova added that the enemy was trying to seize the Lysychansk-Bakhmut highway, which is called the "road of life", and thus to block the evacuation of civilians and the supply of humanitarian goods.

According to the Commissioner, killings of civilians, shelling of peaceful towns and civilian objects by the aggressor country's army are strictly prohibited by international humanitarian law. These actions are war crimes and crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the Geneva Conventions and their additional protocols.

"I urge the UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine to take into account these facts of crimes and human rights violations. I call on international partners to provide weapons to fight the aggressor country of Russia," Denisova said.

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