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 17, 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 17, 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 19 civilians were killed and 57 more were injured by Russian military over the period of April 14-16, as a result of Russian aggression. Information is based on the data of the regional military administrations.

Former Russian prisoners recruited into the “Wagner” PMC told about the terrible orders of Yevgeny Prigozhin that they carried out during the “sweep” of Bakhmut and Soledar. The interview with the militants was published by the Russian human rights organization Gulagu.net.

During a conversation with a journalist, a militant of the Wagner PMC, Azamat Uldarov, admitted that during the storming of Bakhmut, he and other Wagnerites executed hundreds of Ukrainians, including dozens of children. According to Uldarov, he personally shot a 5-6 year old child. Uldarov also told how he personally did the “sweep” of the basement in the nine-story building, where hundreds of people – 300-400 people, including about 40 children – hid.

Another “Wagner” militant, Alexey Savichev, recalled how, after another prisoners exchange, the “Wagner” militants were ordered to shoot civilians when the journalists arrived.

As noted by the head of the President’s Office, Andriy Yermak, we are currently talking about war criminals from the “Wagner” PMC, but this sheds light on the crimes of the regular Russian army in Ukraine.

Donetsk and Luhansk Region

According to the head of the Donetsk regional military administration, Pavlo Kyrylenko, rescue operations at the site of a missile attack on residential high-rise buildings in Sloviansk on April 14 have been completed. According to detailed information, 15 people were retrieved from the rubble: 5 (including a 14-yearold girl) were rescued, 10 (among them a two-year-old boy) died. It was established that 8 missiles from the S-300 air defense system were fired at the city. A total of 39 people became victims of this attack: 15 of them died, 24 were wounded.

Over the April 16, the police have documented 20 attacks in Donetsk region. The Russian army shelled 10 populated areas from aviation, S-300 SAMs, “Grad” MLRSs, and tube artillery. 28 civilian objects were destroyed and damaged – 19 residential buildings, a sports complex, a power line, farm buildings, a garage.

As reported by the State Environmental Inspection in Luhansk Region, the building of the Hirske Regional Special School was destroyed by Russian shelling, which caused the land plot to be littered with debris from buildings and shells.

Children with special needs studied there. The facility was modernly renovated and equipped with new equipment, qualified and experienced specialists (speech therapists, speech pathologists) worked with the children. According to calculations, the damage amounts to more than 800 million hryvnias.

Dnipro and Region

On April 16, the armed forces of the Russian Federation carried out artillery fire on residential areas of the city of Nikopol. Residential buildings, farm buildings, cars and a temple were damaged. Two citizens who were on the territory of the temple were injured. According to preliminary data, fire on civilian objects was carried out from tube artillery.

In the evening of April 17, Russian troops attacked Nikopol, the mayor of the city, Oleksandr Saiuk, said. So far, one person is known to be injured. Five residential buildings, commercial buildings, a dormitory building, a sports club, a private enterprise, and a parking lot were damaged.

Kharkiv and Region

On Easter, the Russian occupiers shelled border and front-line towns and villages in four districts of the region. This was announced by the head of the Kharkiv regional military administration Oleh Synegubov. As a result of enemy shelling, the private residential sector suffered: at least 13 private residential buildings were damaged. There were also fires.

Kherson and Region

On April 15, the Russian army carried out another attack on the residential quarters of the city of Kherson. Enemy shells hit the territory of one of the schools in the regional center, as a result of which two women died on the spot. The occupiers also shelled suburban settlements. So far, it is known about one wounded civilian. Apartment buildings and private houses, as well as the building of the penal institution, were damaged. According to preliminary data, fire on civilian objects was carried out from tube artillery.

The Russian occupiers shelled the Kherson region 46 times last day, April 16. This was announced by the head of the regional military administration Oleksandr Prokudin.

The invaders fired 170 shells from heavy artillery, drones, and aviation on the territory of the region. Residential quarters were hit by the enemy.

Mykolaiv and Region

On the night of April 16, the Russian army attacked the city of Snihurivka in the Mykolaiv region with missiles. Enemy shells hit residential buildings and civil infrastructure objects. A 17-year-old boy and an 18-year-old girl who were on their way to church were killed as a result of the shelling. According to preliminary data, the occupiers fired about 10 S-300 missiles at the peaceful population of Snigurivka.

In two days, 56 civilian objects were damaged by Russian shelling in Mykolaiv region. In total, as of April 17, since the beginning of the Russian invasion, 17,220 civilian objects were partially or completely damaged in Mykolaiv region. This was reported in the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration. 4,940 consumers remain without gas supply.

Sumy and Region

On April 15, the Russian occupiers dropped an aerial bomb on the building of a psycho-neurological boarding house in Shostka district. A 70-year-old woman was injured. Currently, 167 patients are left homeless, as the building is unlivable due to the airstrike.

Zaporizhzhia and Region

Тhe Russian military shelled 16 settlements in the Zaporizhzhia region, the head of the regional military administration, Yuriy Malashko, said.

The enemy carried out 56 attacks on 16 peaceful settlements of the region: 46 artillery strikes, four air strikes, four with the use of UAVs and two attacks with MLRS. So far, 52 reports of destruction of social infrastructure objects, apartments, private houses, cars and other property have been recorded. A 61- year-old man was injured.

Government Office for the Coordination of

European and Euro-Atlantic Integration