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 June 01, 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 June 01, 2023, since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 484 children were killed and more than 992 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 8 civilians were killed and 41 more were injured by Russian military over the period of May 30-31, as a result of Russian aggression. Information is based on the data of the regional military administrations.
According to the World Health Organization, Russia has carried out more than a thousand attacks on medical facilities in Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale war. This is the highest number ever recorded by the WHO. In 15 months, 101 people, including medical workers and patients, died due to Russian attacks on hospitals. Even more people were injured.
Kyiv and Region
On June 1, a 9-year-old girl was killed and a 13-year-old girl was injured as a result of the shelling of Kyiv by Russian ballistic missiles. In total, 3 people died as a result of the attack, 16 people were injured. The buildings of a polyclinic, a kindergarten, three schools and many residential buildings were also damaged.
Donetsk and Luhansk Region
Donetsk police documented the consequences of 24 Russian attacks over the past day. 14 settlements were shelled. The civilian population suffered.
The enemy used FAB-250 air bombs, air missiles, “Iskander” ballistic missile systems, “Grad” MLRSs, tube artillery, mortars, tanks. Over the past day, the Russians killed 2 residents of Donetsk region and wounded 5 more.
29 civilian objects were destroyed and damaged – 23 residential buildings, a farm, an industrial enterprise, a garage and cars.
Kharkiv and Region
In the afternoon of May 31, the Russian military shelled Vovchansk. A civilian was killed, a local woman was injured. According to preliminary data, MLRSs were used for the attack. Residential buildings, apartments of citizens, trade pavilions, a hospital and private enterprises were damaged.
In the village of Podoly, a house and a garage were damaged as a result of enemy shelling.
On May 30, the Russian military shelled the village of Kivsharivka, Kupiansk district. According to preliminary information, the occupiers used a FAB-250 guided aerial bomb. As a result of an enemy attack, a high-rise building was damaged. On the same day, Vovchansk was shelled. Residential buildings were damaged, a 72-year-old local resident was injured.
Dnipro and Region
On May 31, an 8-year-old boy was injured due to enemy shelling of a railway track in the Dnipro region. Private and two-story houses, a transport company and garages were damaged.
On June 1, Russian troops attacked Nikopol in the Dnipro region. Two men, 50 and 55 years old, were wounded. They were hospitalized in a moderate condition, reported the head of the regional military administration, Serhiy Lysak.
A five-story building, a private house, a power line and a gas pipeline were damaged.
Kherson and Region
On May 31, the Russian military once again shelled populated areas of the Kherson region. In one of the villages, a shell hit the yard of a private house. A 3-year-old girl received shrapnel wounds to the head from the explosion and was hospitalized. In another village, a 30-year-old man was injured by shelling. The houses of civilians were damaged.
On June 1, Russian aviation attacked a bread factory in Beryslav with guided aerial bombs. As a result of the impact, two men, aged 57 and 20, received minor injuries. In addition, another local resident was injured as a result of the mortar attack on the city. On the same day, enemy aviation hit the village of Kozatske with three guided aerial bombs, damaging residential buildings. About 15 people were injured in the shelling in the Kherson and Beryslav districts. The data is being verified.
Sumy and Region
During the day of May 31, the Russians carried out 10 attacks on six communities in the Sumy region. This was reported by the regional military administration. As a result of the shelling, residential buildings, farm warehouses and civilian vehicles, as well as a water pressure tower, were damaged.
In the previous day, 55 explosions were recorded in the Sumy region. They damaged the power line, the House of Children’s and Youth Creativity, the lyceum, and the administrative building.
Zaporizhzhia and Region
The enemy army fired 78 times on 20 settlements of the Zaporizhzhia region. This was said by the head of the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration, Yurii Malashko. 23 reports of civilian house destruction were recorded.
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European and Euro-Atlantic Integration