A newly compiled UN Human Rights report details how Russian troops killed civilians in Ukrainian towns and villages and that these violations may constitute war crimes.
Since the Russian Federation attacked Ukraine Feb. 24, the UN Mission has recorded violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws committed by all parties to the conflict according to a news release issued Dec. 7.
“The @UNHumanRights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine released more documentation showing evidence that Russia’s armed forces committed summary executions and attacks on civilians. Of the hundreds reportedly killed, the @UN performed an in-depth examination of 100 deaths,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a post on Twitter.
The civilian casualties total of 12,649 from Feb. 1 to July 31, as recorded by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, due to the ongoing armed attack by the Russian Federation against Ukraine. Actual numbers are likely higher since these figures only include those OHCHR has been able to verify.
“The @UN found that 57 of the 100 were summary executions and that most cases had injuries suggesting torture before being killed. The Kremlin must answer for atrocities committed by its forces in Ukraine,” Blinken also said on Twitter.
OHCHR documented 407 cases of people disappearing, from representatives of local authorities to journalists, activists and civilians. The report said OHCHR verified damage or destruction to 252 medical facilities and 384 verified damaged or destroyed educational facilities and verified 39 places of worship were destroyed.
“Civilians were targeted on roads while moving within or between settlements, including while attempting to flee the hostilities,” Matilda Bogner, head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, said in the release. “Russian soldiers brought civilians to makeshift places of detention and then executed them in captivity. Many of the victims’ bodies were found with their hands tied behind their backs and gunshot wounds to their heads.”
The report also finds there have been little, if any, consequences or repercussions for these executions, the release reported.
