Russia’s actions in the war with Ukraine were denounced on the same day by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch (HRW). The first condemned Russia’s policy of attacking humanitarian organizations; The second points to ‘war crime’, the ongoing practice of forcing civilians from occupied territories to fight against their own country’s military.
“Russian authorities are openly and illegally forcing men in occupied territories of Ukraine to fight against their own country,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at HRW. “Less visible is the practice of pressuring detained Ukrainian citizens, who have nowhere to hide or run, to join the Russian armed forces.”
HRW spoke to three Ukrainians imprisoned in Donetsk who, in addition to the undignified conditions of detention – no heating or running water – complain of increasing pressure to volunteer. A lawyer for one of the prisoners told the NGO that those who refuse are tortured and as a result many eventually give in and are sent straight to the front. This practice constitutes a war crime. “Pressing Ukrainians to fight against their own country is depraved and illegal,” Williamson said. International humanitarian law prohibits a party to an armed conflict from compelling residents of territories it occupies to serve in its armed forces.
One of the largest attacks on Kherson since the start of the war took place on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday. “The city was heavily hit by multiple launch rocket systems and Iranian-Russian combat drones of the Shahed type,” said the region’s military chief Oleksandr Prokudin. As a result, nine people were injured, including four children, and in terms of property damage, three apartment buildings, a kindergarten and a health center were damaged, among others.
It was later learned from OCHA that there were facilities of humanitarian organizations affected by the Russian attack. “I am shocked by the news that a new wave of indiscriminate attacks by the Russian Federation has damaged vital installations and supplies of at least three humanitarian organizations in Kherson,” the head of the UN agency in Ukraine, Denise Brown, wrote in a letter declaration.
The affected organizations in Kherson are the Ukrainian Red Cross and the NGO Shchedryk, whose warehouses and aid materials were completely burned down. The facilities of the NGO HEKS/EPER were also affected. “The devastation is enormous and as winter begins, help is needed more than ever,” Brown said.
Massive Portuguese support
Europeans are far from unanimous on EU support for Ukraine in terms of financing and supply of military equipment to the country (60% in favor and 36% against), as well as support for EU integration (61%-30%), concludes the latest Eurobarometer. However, the Portuguese are notable for the overwhelming majority in favor of military aid to Kiev (82%), while in some countries, such as Cyprus and Bulgaria, the rejection rate is above 60%.
It should also be noted that the majority of Portuguese (76%) are satisfied with the government’s actions in response to the Russian invasion – the fifth highest figure in the EU – and with Brussels’ response (79%, the second country with a higher level of satisfaction, comparable to Denmark).
Source: DN
