UN REPORT: War Crimes in Ukraine
United Nations, @nytimes, @AP, @UN, @JohnsHopkinsSPH, @JHUGlobalHealth • Sept 27, 2022
Executions, children raped and tortured, indiscriminate bombing of civilians—and relatives forced to witness crimes against their loved ones.
These are crimes that have taken place in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion on February 24—and it amounts to war crimes, according to a UN inquiry.
Disturbing findings:
▪️Sexual and gender-based violence against victims 4 to 82 years old
▪️Children deported from Ukraine and placed in Russian orphanages for adoption
▪️Up to 1.6 million Ukrainians interrogated, detained, and/or forcibly deported
▪️Ukrainians in Russian prisons “subjected to beatings, electric shocks and forced nudity”
▪️Executions involving “hands tied behind backs, gunshot wounds to the head, and slit throats”
Earlier this year, the 3-person Commission of Inquiry interviewed 150 victims and witnesses across 27 towns and settlements. Conversely, the commission found an absence of war crimes from the Ukrainian side, documenting a total of two cases of "ill-treatment" toward Russian soldiers. The report stressed that Russian forces committed most of the brutality they uncovered.
What happens next?
The commission will expand its investigation, which could result in war crimes charges by the International Criminal Court—but it’s unclear whether perpetrators will face justice, AP notes.
Going further:
Ukraine’s ambassador-at-large, Anton Korynevych, called for a special tribunal with specific jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute senior Russian leaders, The New York Times reports.
“We believe there has never been a more appropriate time to fill a glaring gap in the architecture of international criminal justice,” Korynevych said.
Video from NY Times:
Link to full article (gift link, so you can access):
Credit: @nytimes @AP @UN @JohnsHopkinsSPH @JHUGlobalHealth