The UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine reported this Wednesday that it had gathered more evidence of “war crimes” committed by Russia on Ukrainian soil and denounced a “profound lack of respect for human dignity” on Moscow’s part.
“The evidence collected shows that Russian authorities have committed war crimes, such as deliberate killings, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, and the deportation of children to the Russian Federation,” said a report by UN investigators quoted by the agencies. International.
The document notes that UN investigations confirm that “Russian authorities have used widespread and systematic torture in several detention centers.”
“Interviews with victims and witnesses revealed a profound disregard for human dignity on the part of the Russian authorities,” the document continues.
The commission claims to have found new evidence that Russian authorities have committed violations of human rights and international law in the regions under their control in Ukraine, the report also shows.
UN experts report that there have been indiscriminate Russian rocket attacks on residential buildings, train stations and shops, causing numerous deaths. Experts also report that during their field surveys they were unable to detect any military presence at most of the affected locations.
The commission also documented the rapes of girls and women by Russian soldiers, both in groups and alone, who raided homes in the Ukrainian cities they occupied.
The recorded violations took place between March 2022 and July 2022 in villages in the Kherson region, including that of a minor under the age of 16 who was pregnant.
The remaining women who were raped were aged between 19 and 83 and some of them had suffered ongoing sexual abuse.
One of the cases that stands out is that of a raped woman and her husband, both murdered after reporting the crime.
The report also documents cases of deportation of Ukrainian minors to Russian territory, a crime for which the International Criminal Court (ICC) has already issued an international arrest warrant against Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.
The UN commission’s report also denounces three cases in which Ukraine violated the human rights of individuals accused of collaborating with Russia.
This concerns two arbitrary arrests in 2022 of two men in Kiev and another this year in Odessa, in which, according to the commission, torture was used.
Source: DN
