Russian military used 350 hostages in Yahidne village as human shield

As the Prosecutor General’s Office informs, the employees of the Chernihiv Regional Prosecutor's Office, who continue to record crimes related to violations of laws and customs of war (Article 438 of the Criminal Code) by Russian troops in Chernihiv region, made a joint trip with experts from the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC to the village of Yahidne.

It was preliminarily established that from March 3 to March 31, the invaders held civilians in the basement of the Yahidne branch of the Kulychiv secondary school of the Ivanivka Village Council.

"In fact, the people, held in the basement, were used as human shields because the school was the headquarters of Russian military," the PGO stressed.

It is noted that more than 350 locals, including 77 children with 5 infants among them, were held in a room of 197 square meters for almost a month. The youngest child was one and a half months old, and the oldest hostage was 93 years old. Due to inhumane conditions – lack of sufficient space, sanitation, access to air, food, water – ten elderly people died.

According to the Prosecutor General’s Office data, 148 out of 180 houses in Yahidne were damaged and 16 houses were destroyed. It was also established that seven villagers had been shot by the invaders.

Eyewitnesses say that the Russian military robbed the houses of villagers, stole washing machines, TVs, microwaves, electric kettles, and other valuables.

As reported, in late March and early April, settlements in Kyiv, Sumy, and Chernihiv regions were liberated from Russian invaders.

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