Читаєте зараз публікацію:

Alleged war crimes: 2 June — 30 June, 2022

Alleged war crimes: 2 June — 30 June, 2022

Russian occupying forces continue a massive grain theft campaign in southern and eastern occupied Ukrainian territories having already stolen 400 tons of grain. There are new credible reports of at least 1 million 200 thousands Ukrainians forcefully displaced to Russia from occupied Ukrainian territories and 20 Russian filtration camps and de-facto prisons for displaced Ukrainians in occupied Donbas territories.  There were new recorded instances of sexual violence, torture, executions of civilians and taking hostages in occupied territories; namely in deoccupied Kyiv Oblast and Chernihiv Oblast, and in occupied Kherson Oblast.

During the reporting period, we documented the following war crimes and violations of international humanitarian law that were committed by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation:

  • Torture and wilful killings;
  • Sexual violence;
  • Attacks on civilian objects;
  • Attacks on specially protected objects;
  • Impeding humanitarian relief and evacuation efforts;
  • Filtration camps and other cases of unlawful transfer and confinement;
  • Pillage, mass destruction and appropriation of property;
  • Taking hostages and enforced disappearances.

Russian continues relentless shelling of civilian infrastructure all over Ukraine. It has already resulted in more than 4000 civilian deaths.

Torture and wilful killings

International criminal law (ICL) and international humanitarian law (IHL) forbid torture and inhumane treatment of any persons regardless of whether they are military or civilian.

ICL and IHL also forbid making civilians the objects of attack and killing them. These two types of war crimes and IHL violations are analyzed in this report in one section. As in all cases of torture analyzed in this section, the victims were found dead. Violations of the prohibition on killings of civilians, as well as torture and inhumane treatment are grave breaches of IHL. Both torture and killings also constitute war crimes and/or crimes against humanity. 

 

Ukrainian authorities are currently investigating the deaths of over 12,000 Ukrainians found in mass graves and areas attacked by Russian forces.

During the reporting period, there were new reports of mass torture and killings of civilians in deoccupied Chernihiv Oblast and Kyiv Oblast, as well as a report of kidnapping, torture and executions of a civilian in Russian-occupied Kherson Oblast.

Cemetery workers unload bodies of killed civilians from a van in a cemetery in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, April 7, 2022

Photo: Rodrigo Abd/AP/picture alliance

03.06.2022.

The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine reported that it identified the Russian soldier who killed a civilian in the village of Peremoha, Kyiv Oblast. The victim was shot in the head and Russian forces prevented villagers from gathering the body for nine days.

05.06.2022.

In Vysehrad, Kyiv Oblast, police uncovered the body of a civilian shot dead by Russian forces.

A refugee from Nova Kakhovka, Kherson Oblast, told IPHR in an interview that “around Easter time,” Russian soldiers shot dead a young man who was publicly chanting “Glory to Ukraine!” (Ukr.: Слава Україні!). They also shot dead an elderly man supposedly because he was wearing a camouflage coat while heading to work in his garden.

08.06.2022.

In Yahidne, Chernihiv Oblast, an investigation by the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine revealed that Russian soldiers forced over 300 civilians including 77 children into a school basement and threatened them with weapons and injury. Before detaining these civilians, the Russian troops forced them to publicly strip naked in the street during cold weather. The civilians were kept in a dark, unsanitary basement and denied food and water for 19 days. These conditions led to ten civilian deaths. Russian soldiers prevented residents from burying several of the dead and opened fire on civilians who tried, forcing them to hide in dug graves.

09.06.2022.

Russian state media reported that two British citizens, Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner and Moroccan citizen, Brahim Saadoune, were sentenced to the death penalty by a de-facto court in the Russian-controlled territory of Donetsk, for mercenary activities and an attempt to overthrow “constitutional order” of the so-called DPR. Aslin and Pinner submitted an application to the European Court of Human Rights. The court issued an order to Russia to ensure that they are not subjected to death penalty. If the execution does take place, it would potentially constitute a war crime of willful killing.

British and Moroccan citizens  at “court” so-called DPR

Photo: RIA NOVOSTI

10.06.2022.

In Kiselyvka, Kherson Oblast, the occupying Russian forces kidnapped Ukrainian police officer Vitaliy Lapchuk, his wife and children at the end of March. Vitality’s wife said that her husband was beaten up and then drowned by the Russian soldiers. She and her children were released.

13.06.2022.

The National Police head for the Kyiv Oblast also reported that seven civilians were tortured and executed by Russian forces near the village of Myrotske. Several of the victims were shot in their knees and had their hands tied.

19.06.2022.

The occupying authorities in Zaporizhzhia Oblast are threatening the local population with death penalty to break the resistance to the Russian occupation.

A refugee from Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, said in an interview that Russian occupying forces were kidnapping young people who went on protests against the Russian occupation and beat them up. The friend of the interviewee was hit in the chest with the butt of a machine gun. Russians shoved her and some male protestors into a car, drove them outside the city, threatened her with rape and then threw her out of the car. Male protestors who were kidnapped together with her remained in the car. Some of them never came back. Another friend of the interviewee was detained for a pro-Ukrainian post on Instagram. Russian soldiers held him in a basement, threatened him and beat him up so badly that he did not want to tell what was done to him when he was released.

Sexual violence

Rape and other forms of sexual violence constitute a war crime, a crime against humanity and a breach of IHL. Sexual violence can also amount to torture and/or inhumane and degrading treatment – another war crime and a grave breach of IHL.

During the reporting period, Ukrainian National Police have opened 17 criminal cases against Russian soldiers accused of raping Ukrainians.

29.06.2022

The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine reported that it verified 23 cases of conflict-related sexual violence, including cases of rape, gang rape, torture, forced public stripping, and threats of sexual violence, the majority of which were committed in areas controlled by Russian armed forces.

Attacks on civilian objects

ICL and IHL establish provisions for the general protection of civilian objects and entire towns, villages, dwellings, and buildings which are undefended and which are not military objectives. Attacks, reprisals, or other acts of violence against such objects in international conflicts are forbidden and considered war crimes and breaches of IHL. 

International law prohibits both intentional and indiscriminate attacks against civilians and civilian objects. The prohibition includes attacks that are not directed at a specific military objective; attacks that employ a method or means of combat which cannot be directed at a specific military objective or whose effects cannot be limited and, thus, strike military objectives and civilians or civilian objects without distinction; bombardment which treats as a single military objective a number of clearly separated and distinct military objectives located in a city, town, village, or other area containing a similar concentration of civilians or civilian objects; and attacks which may be expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians, damage to civilian objects, or a combination thereof which would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated. 

The U.N. Commissioner for Human Rights announced that, as of 31 May 2022, the Russian military killed over 4000 civilians in Ukraine. During the reporting period, Russia has continued relentless shelling and bombardments in central, northern, eastern and southern regions of Ukraine and targeted strikes in the west of Ukraine. In this section, we described only the most notorious cases of attacks that claimed 101 civilian lives and caused massive destruction of civilian infrastructure.

03.06.2022.

In Hirske, Luhansk Oblast, Russian shelling killed a 13-year-old boy. The head of Kyiv Oblast Police reported that the death toll in the region rose to 1,314 civilians.

04.06.2022.

In Mykolaiv, three people died due to Russian shelling of residential areas. 

07.06.2022.

Russian forces shelled residential areas across Kharkiv Oblast, killing four people. Russian rockets destroyed a grocery supermarket in Kharkiv. The shelling took place outside of the working hours and caused no casualties.

08.06.2022

The local authorities of Avdiivka, Donetsk Oblast, reported that the Russian forces are calling local residents and pretending to be locals who fled and are concerned about the fate of the city. They ask the address of residence and clarify the number of people who live with the persons they reach and then shell their houses with artillery.

13.06.2022

In Donetsk Oblast, Russian shelling killed three civilians. 

Russian forces shelled residential areas in Sumy Oblast 45 times, killing one civilian.

14.06.2022.

Russian shelling killed four civilians: three in Donetsk Oblast and one in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.

15.06.2022.

In Apostolove, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, four civilians were killed by Russian shelling. 

16.06.2022.

In Sumy Oblast, Russian forces attacked residential areas with rockets killing four people.

20.06.2022.

In Kharkiv Oblast, the Russian military shelled residential areas and killed three people.

Consequences of shelling in Kharkiv

Photo: Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office

21.06.2022.

In Kharkiv Oblast, Russian shelling of residential areas killed 15 civilians, including an 8-year-old child.

22.06.2022.

Continued Russian shelling of Kharkiv Oblast killed 10 more people.

25.06.2022

In Sarny, Rivne Oblast, four civilians died and two were heavily wounded in a Russian shelling of civilian infrastructure.

Ukrainian authorities reported that Russia destroyed 90% of infrastructure in Severodonetsk by relentless shelling. It is currently under Russian occupation.

26.06.2022.

Russian troops shelled Sumy Oblast with barrel and jet artillery and helicopters, more than 150 times, killing one civilian and wounding another one.

27.06.2022.

In Kremenchuk, Poltava Oblast, Russian shelling of a shopping centre killed 21 civilians.

In Donetsk Oblast, Russian shelling killed two people and wounded six in Kramatorsk. In Lysychansk, 8 people were killed and 21 more wounded after Russian forces shelled a group of civilians with cluster munitions on the street who were waiting in a line to get drinking water. Many of those wounded had to have their limbs amputated due to heavy injuries.

In Kyiv, a Russian airstrike on a downtown residential building killed one person and injured six more. 

In Kharkiv, five civilians were killed and 22 were wounded as a result of Russian forces’ shelling of residential areas.

It became known that in a destroyed apartment building in occupied Mariupol, more than 100 bodies of civilians killed in a Russian airstrike were discovered.

29.06.2022

In Mykolaiv, Russian forces shelled an apartment building killing 7 people.

During the reporting period, Russian forces also shelled Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk and Chernihiv regions.

A refugee from Mariupol, Donetsk Oblast, told IPHR in an interview that in the middle of March, he witnessed how Russian forces shelled a group of civilians that gathered on the street to get drinking water and bread. The witness said that approximately ten civilians were killed and many more were wounded. In the same period, he witnessed how Russian plains were bombing large gatherings of people on the street and residential buildings. In May, the interviewee’s relative and two other women died as a result of Russian bombing of an apartment building in Mariupol, another relative and three other people who lived in the building were heavily wounded.

Attacks on specially protected objects

According to ICL and IHL, certain civilian objects are afforded special protection due to their humanitarian importance. Such objects include, inter alia schools, cultural and religious objects. ICL also specifically protects buildings dedicated to education.

During the reporting period, the Russian military attacked a school and a religious building.

02.06.2022

In Kharkiv, a Russian airstrike destroyed a school.

04.06.2022.

In Sviatohirsk, Donetsk Oblast, Russian forces shelled the Sviatohirsk Lavra Orthodox monastery. The attack destroyed a historic church building.

Impeding humanitarian relief and evacuation efforts

IHL and ICL have specific provisions to ensure that the civilian population is provided with necessary humanitarian relief during wartime, including food, water, and medicine. The parties to the international armed conflict are obligated to allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of relief consignments. Personnel that transport and distribute relief consignments are also under the protection of IHL.Actions that impede humanitarian relief constitute a breach of IHL and can amount to the war crime of starvation of civilians.

Additionally, IHL obligates the parties to a conflict to remove the civilian population, individual civilians, and civilian objects under their control from the vicinity of military objectives. In besieged or encircled areas, the parties are obligated to ensure the removal of wounded, sick, infirm, and aged persons, as well as children and maternity cases, and ensure the passage of ministers of all religions, medical personnel, and medical equipment on their way to such areas. Parties to the conflict shall, without delay, take all possible measures to search for and collect the wounded and sick to ensure their adequate care.

During the reporting period, Russia repeatedly blocked the evacuation of children from occupied Kherson Oblast and destroyed two humanitarian aid storages.

02.06.2022.

The local authorities of Kherson Oblast reported, that Russian occupying forces denied all their request to open humanitarian corridors and evacuate children from orphanages, including children with disabilities

13.06.2022.

An investigation by the National Police of Ukraine revealed that Russian forces shelled 50 evacuation corridors since the start of the full-scale invasion. These attacks have killed more than 30 civilians.

16.06.2022.

A Russian rocket destroyed a train cart with humanitarian aid for civilians in Donetsk Oblast.

29.06.2022.

In Luhansk Oblast, Russian airstrike destroyed storages with humanitarian aid and vehicles.

Filtration camps and other cases of unlawful transfer and confinement

According to the Fourth Geneva Convention, civilians may only be interned or placed in assigned residence if “the security of the detaining power makes it absolutely necessary” or, in occupied territory, for “imperative reasons of security,” for instance, if the interned persons may seriously prejudice the security of the detaining power by means such as

sabotage or espionage. Any persons arrested, detained or interned for actions related to the armed conflict shall be informed promptly, in a language they understand, of the reasons why these measures have been taken.” Any person interned or placed in an assigned residence has a right to appeal this decision and if the decision is maintained to have it periodically reviewed. Detention that is not in conformity with the above rules constitutes an “unlawful confinement,” which is a war crime and a grave breach of IHL.

Additionally, ICL and IHL prohibit forced displacement, deportation, or transfer of the civilian population of an occupied territory to another state or location. The violation of these norms is a grave breach of IHL, as well as a war crime and/or a crime against humanity.

As of 20 June 2022, according to the estimates of the Ukrainian government, Russian forces deported circa one million 200 thousand Ukrainians from occupied territories to Russia.

Examination of civil population as a part of filtration procedure

Filtration camps on temporary occupied territories of Ukraine

04.06.2022.

The Ukrainian Prosecutor General announced over 20 criminal cases involving the forced deportation of Ukrainians to Russia and Belarus.

17.06.2022.

Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the OSCE reported that Russian forces have created at least 20 filtration camps and de-facto prisons in occupied territories.

Pillage, mass destruction and appropriation of property

ICL and IHL protect the property of civilians from pillage by the warring parties. International law also prohibits extensive destruction and appropriation of any property (including property belonging individually or collectively to private persons or to the state) that is not justified by military necessity.

During the reporting period, Russian occupying forces continued looting Ukrainian grain from the occupied territories. Russian forces shelled and destroyed two grain storages and burnt one grain field.

02.06.2022.

The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine identified ten Russian soldiers suspected of looting civilian property in Bucha. Investigations are still underway.

It became known that during the occupation of Kyiv Oblast, Russian forces looted the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, stealing 1,500 radiation dosimeters, 688 computers, 344 vehicles, and irreplaceable software for radiation monitoring.

02.06.2022.

In occupied Mariupol, Donetsk Oblast, Russian occupying authorities stole 2400 tones of rolled steel from Metallurgical Combine Azovstal.

Azovstal

Photo: Дмитро Козацький

06.06.2022.

In Mykolaiv, a grain storage silo was destroyed by Russian shelling. The Operational Command South of the Ukrainian forces reports that the Black Sea coast of Mykolaiv Oblast, ports and granaries are under attack by Russian air-based cruise missiles.

08.06.2022.

In Nesteryanka, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Russian soldiers stole 500 tons of sunflower seeds from an agricultural enterprise. Russian forces also stole six cars and three trucks across various villages in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

10.06.2022.

Occupying authorities in Zaporizhzhia Oblast started shipping stolen Ukrainian cherries from occupied Melitopol to Crimea.

14.06.2022.

The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine reported that Russian forces have stolen almost 2,000 tons of grain from Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Between May and June 2022, Russian soldiers threatened agricultural employees with weapons and physical violence to load stolen wheat onto vehicles. 

15.06.2022.

The de-facto head of Russian-occupied Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, admitted that Russia is transporting Ukrainian grain from occupied southern and eastern territories of Ukraine to Crimea and is selling it in Sevastopol. 

17.06.2022.

RFE/RL published three Maxar satellite images made in May and June 2022 demonstrating how Russia loaded looted Ukrainian grain to its cargo ships in Sevastopol and transported it to Syria.

Satellite images appear to show Russia stealing Ukraine’s grain

Photo: Maxar

28.06.2022.

In Mykolaiv Oblast, Russian forces shelled a wheat field causing a fire that destroyed ten hectares of crops.

30.06.2022.

In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Russian forces shelled and destroyed a grain storage with 40 tons of grain.

In Berdyansk, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Russian occupying authorities announced that the first ship with stolen Ukrainian grain had left the port of Berdyansk.

A refugee from Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, told IPHR in an interview that Russian soldiers seized a gas station and sold the fuel from it in one of the villages. Russian military was also stealing office equipment, servers, safes and machines from local factories. Another refuge from Melitopol said that Russian soldiers broke into a local food supermarket “ATB” and took away all goods from there, and destroyed a local pharmacy.

Taking hostages and enforced disappearances

Taking hostages and enforced disappearance of persons constitute separate crimes under ICL. While both involve the forceful deprivation of freedom of another person, they differ in the motive behind them. For an act to constitute the war crime of taking hostages, the perpetrator must threaten to kill, injure, or continue to detain the person with the explicit or implicit intent to compel behavior from a state or group in exchange for the safety or release of the hostage. The enforced disappearance of persons is a crime against humanity that requires the perpetrator to refuse to give any information on the abducted person with an intent to remove him or her from the protection of the law for a prolonged period of time.

Reports on disappearances are often unable to immediately establish a motive, making it difficult to distinguish between the two crimes. In light of the on-going collection of evidence from the warzone, we group these crimes together.

During the reporting period, Russian forces abducted/held hostage 162 civilians from Zaporizhzhia Oblast and Kherson Oblast. Two of them have been released, the fate of the other four remains unknown.

08.06.2022.

In Enerhodar, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Russian forces abducted circa 20 civilians. Eleven of those kidnapped are employees of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant located in the city and occupied by Russia since March 2022.

09.06.2022.

Zaporizhzhya Regional Military Administration reported that Russian soldiers abduct civilians, hold them in basements, and demand money in exchange for their release. Ukrainian military officials report that as of 9 June 2022, 121 civilians from Zaporizhzhya Oblast are being held hostage by Russian forces. 

13.06.2022.

It became known that in late March–early April, Russian forces captured 33 volunteer drivers who were evacuating civilians from Mariupol to Zaporizhzhya. They were held in occupuied territories of Donetsk Oblast in a so-called DNR prison, where they were held in inhumane conditions, tortured and deprived of sufficient food and water. 32 of them were released on 15 July 2022 while one volunteer remains behind bars. 

14.06.2022.

Russian soldiers and collaborators abducted the vice-rector of Kherson University.

18.06.2022.

Ukraine exchanged five Russian prisoners of war for five Ukrainian civilians that were taken hostage by the occupying Russian forces.

24.06.2022.

In Kherson Oblast, Russian forces broke into the homes of three Crimean Tatars, kidnapping two of them. Their whereabouts are unknown.

28.06.2022.

It became known that a local government representative of Enerhodar, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, is being held hostage by the occupying Russian forces. As of 28 July 2022 he has spent 5 days in captivity and there is currently no information about his fate. 

29.06.2022.

In Kherson Oblast, two of six heads of local city administrations taken hostage by Russians were released. One of them spent more than three months in captivity. The fate of another four hostages remains unknown. 

A refugee from Mariupol, Donetsk Oblast, told IPHR in an interview that he was held hostage in a hospital together with some 150 other civilians who were undergoing treatment there or were forced to the hospital by Russian and “DPR” forces. Civilians were held in a basement and those who tried to flee were shot dead by snipers positioned in the neighbouring buildings. Those who tried to argue with the soldiers were beaten up and threatened with execution. Only children were allowed to eat. If the soldiers saw that adults were eating food, they beat them up and forced them to work.

A refugee from Nova Kakhovka, Kherson Oblast, said in an interview that Russian soldiers were kidnapping people who previously participated in the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) in Donbas and their relatives. None of the kidnapped have returned.

feedback__eye-icon

Бачили чи знаєте про злочин?

Розкажіть Truth Hounds про це, і ми коректно задокументуємо і передамо матеріали
слідчим органам

Сподобався матеріал?

Підтримайте Truth Hounds