Systematic and coordinated
The attacks – which have hit a wide range of civilian targets in an area spanning more than 300 kilometers along the right bank of the Dnipro River, through the provinces of Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson and Mykolaiv – are systematically coordinated actions designed to drive Ukrainians from their homes, the report’s authors say.
Buildings have been damaged by drone and missile attacks in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv.
They have attacked people, homes and buildings, humanitarian distribution points and critical energy infrastructure serving civilians.
They also attacked first responders, including ambulances and firefighters, who enjoy special protection under international humanitarian law.
Many of the attacks repeatedly targeted the same vehicles and infrastructure, deliberately setting them on fire, spreading terror among civilians and violating their fundamental human rights.
The report of the investigative team appointed by the UN Human Rights Council (established in March 2022) contains testimonies from residents who have been attacked and who describe their living conditions as unbearable.
“Severe mental pain and suffering”
“They attack us every day, drones fly at any time: morning, afternoon, day or night, constantly”said one man interviewed for the report.
The investigators’ report documents that Russian authorities coordinated actions to deport or transfer groups of people from areas under occupation. Some were transferred to areas under the control of the Ukrainian Government; others were sent to neighboring Georgia.
Arrests, torture and confiscation of documents and belongings are also foreseen, acts that have “inflicted severe mental pain and suffering and constitutes inhuman treatment as a war crime and a violation of human rights”the report states.
Thick black smoke fills the sky over residential buildings in kyiv after a drone strike set fire to a nine-story block in the neighborhood.
On Monday, the Commission of Inquiry presented the report to the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly, which deals with social, humanitarian and cultural issues.
The conclusions are based on some 500 publicly available examined crime videos (of which 247 have been technically verified for their location) and 226 interviews with Ukrainian citizens.
The Commission also examined Russian allegations of drone attacks by the Ukrainian armed forces against civilian targets in Russian-occupied areas. He was unable to draw any conclusions due to the lack of access to the territory, concerns related to the safety of witnesses, and the lack of responses from the Russian authorities.