RUSSIAN WAR CRIMES AND HUMAN RIGHT VIOLATIONS IN THE WAR AGAINST UKRAINE
Sources: Commissioner for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Office of the Prosecutor General, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Internal Affairs, State Emergency Service, National Police, relevant city and town councils and regional state administrations
Summary update as of April 19, 2023
The use of weapons of mass destruction against civilians is a crime against humanity and a violation of the four Geneva Conventions of 1949.
By killing civilians, the aggressor’s forces continue to commit crimes against humanity as defined by the Statute of the International Military Tribunal and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, cynically disregarding all the requirements of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. According to these norms, deliberate attacks on civilians who are not directly involved in hostilities are equated to war crimes.
The taking of civilian hostages is a direct violation of Articles 3 and 34 of the Geneva Convention with regard to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
As of April 19, 2023, since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 470 children were killed and more than 948 children have been injured. Due to the active hostilities in affected regions, there is no possibility to inspect the areas of shelling and destruction.
In Ukraine, at least 4 civilians were killed and 27 more were injured by Russian military on April 18, as a result of Russian aggression. Information is based on the data of the regional military administrations.
Donetsk and Luhansk Region
As a result of Russian shelling on April 18 in the Donetsk region, one person died and 13 were injured. This was announced by the head of the regional military administration, Pavlo Kyrylenko.
According to the information of the National Police of Donetsk region, on April 18 Russia made 33 strikes on 14 settlements of the region. The police registered more than half a hundred destructions per day. Among other weapons, the enemy used aerial bombs and kamikaze drones against the civilian population, as well as aviation, S-300 SAM, “Geran” UAVs, “Grad” MLRSs, and tube artillery.
58 civilian objects were destroyed and damaged – 24 residential buildings, 2 hospital buildings, 18 trade pavilions, offices, dentistry, a bank, a coffee shop, a technical school, a business center, an entertainment complex, a production building of a plant, cars.
Dnipro and Region
According to the Office of the Prosecutor General, on April 18, the Russian occupiers carried out an artillery attack on the Chervonohrygorivka community of the Nikopol district. As a result of enemy shelling, solar panels, a private enterprise, residential buildings, an outbuilding, greenhouses, and a car were damaged. According to preliminary data, fire on civilian objects was carried out from tube artillery.
Kharkiv and Region
On April 18, the Russian military carried out an air strike at Vovchansk. According to preliminary information, the enemy used two guided aerial bombs. Two people were injured. Data on the victims are currently being verified. Residential buildings, commercial buildings and the market were damaged. As a result of the shelling, a large-scale fire broke out, about 60 trade pavilions burned.
As the head of the regional military administration Oleh Synegubov reported, during search and rescue operations at the site of an airstrike in Vovchansk, the bodies of 2 dead civilians were found – a 50-year-old man and a 44-year-old woman.
Also, on April 18, the occupiers shelled the village of Dvorichna in the Kupiansk district. A 77-year-old woman was injured. She was hospitalized in serious condition.
Kherson and Region
On April 18, the occupiers have carried out 79 shellings of Kherson region, firing 350 shells from heavy artillery and UAVs. The enemy shelled the city of Kherson 12 times. Oleksandr Prokudin, the head of the Kherson regional military administration, announced this.
The Russian military targeted the residential quarters of the populated areas of the region; hit the territory of the market and the building of the educational institution in Kherson. As a result of Russian aggression, one person died and ten were injured.
Russian occupation troops in the war against Ukraine continue to destroy the civilian infrastructure of the Kherson region. This was reported in the regional state administration on April 19. In particular, on April 18, the Russians attacked the village of Zmiivka of the Beryslav community. The enemy hit damaged the local school building and the premises of the medical clinic.
Odesa and Region
On April 19, Russian troops attacked Odesa region with kamikaze drones. A hit to the object of children’s recreational infrastructure was recorded, a fire broke out. This is reported by the Operational Command “South”. In total, the Russians released 12 drones over the Odesa region that night.
Fire on the children recreational facility caused by Russian kamikaze drone attack on Apr 19
Sumy and Region
During the day of April 18, the Russian occupiers attacked six border communities of the Sumy region. This was reported by the regional military administration.
165 hits from mortars, artillery, and grenade launchers were recorded. One woman was injured and one died in an ambulance in Rychkivska hromada. As a result of artillery shelling, farm buildings were damaged.
A civilian man was wounded in the Yunakivka community.
As a result of Russian shelling, 39 medical facilities in 26 health care facilities of the Sumy region were damaged. This was announced by the deputy head of the Sumy regional military administration, Olena Boyko.
Zaporizhzhia and Region
On April 19, the communities of the Zaporizhzhia region have been hit by 93 artillery shells on the contact line. Also, the enemy made 4 airstrikes, 1 strike with UAV, and 3 strikes with MLRSs. This was announced by the head of Zaporizhzhia regional military adminisration, Yuriy Malashko.
As a result of the occupiers’ attacks, 20 settlements were damaged, including the cities of Orikhiv and Huliaipole. 21 reports were received about the destruction of infrastructure facilities by the Russian military.
According to the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration, on April 19, Russian troops attacked the city of Orikhiv with an aerial bomb. Private houses and property of local residents were damaged.
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