Advertisement

War crimes have been committed in Ukraine, says UN-mandated inquiry

Click to play video: 'Ukraine finds hundreds of bodies in mass grave in Izium, police chief says most are civilians'
Ukraine finds hundreds of bodies in mass grave in Izium, police chief says most are civilians
WATCH: Ukraine finds hundreds of bodies in mass grave in Izium, police chief says most are civilians – Sep 16, 2022

War crimes including rape, torture and confinement of children have been committed in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, the head of a UN-mandated investigation body said on Friday.

Ukraine and its Western allies allege a litany of rights abuses by Russian soldiers since the Feb. 24 invasion, but Moscow denies that as a smear campaign.

“Based on the evidence gathered by the Commission, it has concluded that war crimes have been committed in Ukraine,” Erik Mose, who heads the Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

He did not specify who was to blame but the commission has focused on areas previously occupied by Russian forces such as Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Sumy.

Story continues below advertisement

Investigators from the commission, created by the rights council in March, visited 27 places and interviewed more than 150 victims and witnesses.

They found evidence of a large number of executions including bodies with tied hands, slit throats and gunshot wounds to the head, Mose said.

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

He said investigators had identified victims of sexual violence aged between four and 82. While some Russian soldiers had used sexual violence as a strategy, the commission “has not established any general pattern to that effect,” Mose added.

Click to play video: '‘This is an act of Russian terror’: Zelenskyy says Russian missiles have killed 20 people in western Ukraine'
‘This is an act of Russian terror’: Zelenskyy says Russian missiles have killed 20 people in western Ukraine

'DARK WORLD'

Russia denies deliberately attacking civilians during what it calls its “special military operation.”

Story continues below advertisement

Russia was called on to respond to the allegations at the council meeting but its seat was left empty. There was no immediate official reaction from Moscow.

The commission will next turn its attention to allegations of “filtration” camps in Russian-occupied areas for processing Ukrainian prisoners as well as claims of forced transfers of people and adoption of Ukrainian children in Russia.

Ukraine and some other nations urged the commission to also investigate a mass burial site near Izium, in eastern Ukraine, where hundreds of bodies have been found.

“If left unanswered, (Russia’s violations) will drag us into a dark world of impunity and permissiveness,” Ukraine’s envoy Anton Korynevych told the council by video link.

Sometimes investigations launched by the council can be used before national and international courts, such as in the case of a former Syrian intelligence officer jailed for state-backed torture in Germany in January.

Mose said he was in touch with the International Criminal Court about the commission’s findings. The body is due to submit a complete report to the council at the end of its mandate in March 2023, including with recommendations on how to hold perpetrators to account.

Advertisement

Sponsored content

AdChoices