Russian troops killed at least 441 civilians in the first days of the invasion of Ukraine, concludes a report published Wednesday by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), which lists the acts perpetrated in dozens of communes and summary executions that he said could amount to war crimes.
A Probably Higher Balance Sheet
The total number of human casualties in Kiev, Chernihiv and Sumy provinces is likely much higher, the OHCHR said in this report, which covers the period from February 24, the first day of the invasion, to early April, when Russian troops withdrew from these three. regions.
“The acts in question were committed by the Russian armed forces that controlled these areas and caused the deaths of 441 civilians (341 men, 72 women, 20 boys and eight girls),” the document details. “There is strong evidence that the summary executions documented in the report constitute the war crime of intentional killing,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said in a statement.
OHCHR, through the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, collected evidence from a total of 102 towns and villages. Russia’s defense and foreign ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Moscow has repeatedly denied deliberately targeting civilians since the start of what Russian authorities call a “special military operation” in Ukraine.
Signs that the victims were intentionally killed
kyiv and its Western allies for their part denounce an invasion aimed at seizing control of at least part of Ukraine’s territory. As of December 4, the OHCHR had recorded 6,702 civilian deaths. The report released Wednesday is limited to areas controlled by Russian troops since the early days of the conflict due to “the prevalence of reported killings of civilians in these three areas” and the High Commission’s ability to verify and document the reports. of subsequent deaths. the withdrawal of Russian troops.
A UN commission concluded in October that Russian troops were responsible for the vast majority of human rights violations during the first days of the war. Observations made on a large number of bodies identified by the new report suggest that the victims were intentionally killed, the OHCHR said.
Of 100 deaths fully investigated, 57 are classified as summary executions, 30 of which involve people in custody at the time of death. The other 43 cases are of civilians killed while traveling on foot, by bicycle, or in a motor vehicle. “Most of the victims were attacked on their way to work, taking food to others, visiting neighbors or relatives, or trying to flee hostilities,” the report added.
Source: BFM TV
