Killings of civilians by Russian armed forces: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights presents report
“My visit to Ukraine ended a week ago. But the horrors, suffering and the daily toll that this war is having on people in the country remain with me. The deaths. The lives uprooted. The families ripped apart,” Türk said, an Ukrinform correspondent reports from New York.
As noted, the report is focused on killings of civilians by Russian armed forces through summary executions and attacks on individual civilians which took place in 102 villages and towns in Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Sumy regions between 24 February and 6 April 2022.
The findings are based on information gathered during field visits to the three regions following the retreat of Russian troops, interviews with witnesses and survivors, and other sources of information.
The Commissioner noted that the mission had documented the killings of 441 civilians: 341 men, 72 women, 20 boys, and 8 girls.
The experts continue working to corroborate an additional 198 alleged killings in these regions and also documenting new cases in parts of Kharkiv and Kherson regions that were recently retaken by Ukrainian forces.
One hundred of the documented killings in the three regions are presented in the report in detail, Türk said.
“In some cases, Russian soldiers executed civilians in makeshift places of detention. Others were summarily executed on the spot following security checks – in their houses, yards, and doorways. Even where the victim had shown clearly that they were not a threat, for example, by holding their hands in the air,” the Commissioner added.
He stressed that the summary executions documented in the report might constitute the war crime of wilful killing.
Russian forces carried out other types of attacks on individual civilians, in violation of international humanitarian law. Armoured vehicles and tanks fired at residential buildings, killing civilians in their homes.
Bucha was the town worst hit, where we documented the killings of 73 civilians (54 men, 16 women, 2 boys and 1 girl) between 4 and 30 March.
“Over a 150-meter stretch of Yablunska Street, 14 civilians (10 men, 3 women and 1 girl) were shot dead and left where they fell,” he said.
The Commissioner noted that his Office is in the process of corroborating 105 additional alleged killings of civilians in Bucha.
“My team on the ground continues to document violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law affecting both civilians and combatants, including arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, torture and ill-treatment, and conflict-related sexual violence,” he added.
Türk underscored that all allegations of violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law – by whomever and wherever committed – must be promptly investigated and the perpetrators of serious violations must be brought to justice, under a fair and independent legal process.
“The scars of war run deep. Accountability is one of the remedies to heal the wounds of war,” he added.
The report on the mass killings of civilians in Ukraine by the Russian military was published on December 7.
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