Ukraine to send data on Russia's shelling of hospitals and houses in Donbas to The Hague

"Deputy Prosecutor General Gunduz Mamedov signed another communication to be addressed to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court regarding serious violations of international humanitarian law committed by representatives of the occupation administrations of the Russian Federation in Luhansk region," the press service of the Prosecutor General’s Office informs.

The communication was prepared by the Luhansk Regional Prosecutor's Office together with the Luhansk Regional Human Rights Center "Alternative" and representatives of the Department for Crimes Committed amid Armed Conflict, the Prosecutor General's Office based on monitoring visits of human rights defenders to the zone of armed conflict, interviews with victims and files of criminal proceedings.

It contains information on the facts of the systematic use of the indiscriminate weapons by the Russian Federation and the illegal armed formations it backs, the consequences of which are unpredictable, and the shelling of civilian facilities.

In particular, there is information about artillery shelling of hospitals, residential buildings, gas, water and electricity supply facilities, i.e., the shelling of the infrastructure, which is not used for military purposes, that is prohibited by the 1949 Geneva Convention. "The communication contains information about 34 cases of indiscriminate shelling. The consequences of such occupier’s actions were numerous damages to water mains, hydraulic structures, industrial buildings and equipment, interruptions in water supply and electricity supply in the villages of Novotoshkivske, Vovchoyarivka, Loskutivka, Pidlisne, Toshkivka, Svitlychne, the towns of Hirske, Zolote and Popasna with a total population of over 40,000,” the statement reads.

According to the Prosecutor General’s Office data, more than 7,000 damaged and destroyed infrastructure facilities in Luhansk region have been documented since 2014. In the last year alone, 655 attacks from the temporarily occupied territory of Luhansk region were recorded, as a result of which 22 civilian infrastructure facilities were damaged, 3 civilians were injured and one person was killed.

According to Mamedov, the prosecutor's offices together with human rights activists are doing large-scale work. “The analysis conducted and the evidence gathered prove the consistent nature of criminal actions against civilians in Luhansk region and civilian facilities that ensure the vital activity of towns and provide medical care. The regional prosecutor's offices in Donbas opened a register of victims of the armed conflict, which allows to provide an appropriate legal assessment of actions of representatives of the occupation administrations, determine the amount of damage and restore the rights of victims,” Mamedov informed.

According to him, more than 4,200 victims have been identified in criminal proceedings over crimes related to armed conflict, of which more than 90% are individuals. "328 civilians have been injured and 197 have been killed as a result of enemy shelling," the official said.

In total, 16 communications on violations of international humanitarian law in Crimea and Donbas have already been sent to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.

Earlier, Prosecutor General of Ukraine Iryna Venediktova stated that 70 Russian citizens had been served with notices of charges over unleashing and waging an aggressive war against Ukraine.

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