RUSSIAN WAR CRIMES AND HUMAN RIGHT VIOLATIONS IN THE WAR AGAINST UKRAINE

RUSSIAN WAR CRIMES & HUMAN RIGHT VIOLATIONS IN THE WAR AGAINST UKRAINE

IRINA MIROCHNIK

[Summary update as of December 17, 2022]

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 de- fined by the Statute of the International Military Tribunal and the Rome Statute of the Interna- tional 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 December 17, 2022, since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 450 children were killed and more than 863 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, 40 civilians were killed in the past week of December 09-16, and 140 more were injured. This was announced by the deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Kyrylo Tymoshenko based on the data of the regional military administrations.

According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on December 16, during a massive Russian missile attack on the civil and energy infrastructure of Ukraine, 98 missiles were fired and more than 65 rounds of MLRS were fired.

RUSSIAN WAR CRIMES AND HUMAN RIGHT VIOLATIONS IN THE WAR AGAINST UKRAINE

Kyiv and Region

As a result of yesterday’s massive attack by Russia on Ukraine, four civilians were injured in the Kyiv region. Nine houses and cars were damaged. This was reported by the Chief of the Kyiv Region Police Andrii Nebytov.

Donetsk and Luhansk Region

In the part of the Donetsk region under the control of the Ukrainian authorities,

seven civilians were killed in the past 24 hours due to shelling by Russian forces. This was announced by the head of the regional military administration Pavlo Kyrylenko. Seven more civilians were wounded.
According to the data of the Donetsk regional military administration, since February 24, 1,264 civilians have died in the Donetsk region due to the full- scale invasion of the Russian army. 2,749 people were injured. At the same time, the authorities cannot establish the exact number of victims in Mariupol and Volnovakha.

During the past 24 hours, 12 settlements in the Donetsk region were under shelling. This is stated in the notification of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The enemy used aviation, “Grad” and “Smerch” MLRSs, and tube artillery against the civilian population. 12 settlements were affected. 4 residential buildings, a transformer, an administrative building, and a garage were damaged.

On the night of Saturday, December 17, the Russians launched a rocket attack on Kramatorsk. Objects of civil infrastructure were damaged. The mayor of Kramatorsk, Oleksandr Honcharenko, announced this. He clarified that as a result of another Russian missile attack, the road surface, an educational institution and private houses were damaged. Currently, the city is left without electric,- ty, heat and water.

Dnipro and Region

In Kryvyi Rih, after midnight, rescuers retrieved the body of a 1.5-year-old boy from under the rubble of a house destroyed by a Russian missile on December 16. This was reported by the head of the Dnipro regional military administration, Valentin Reznichenko. In total, the Russian attack on the city on December 16 claimed five lives. The Russians killed a 64-year-old woman and a young

family with a small son on the spot. Another victim later died in hospital. A total of thirteen people were injured, including four children.

On the night of December 17, the Russians shelled the Nikopol district. Damaged houses and power lines. Valentyn Reznichenko also reported on this.

Kharkiv and Region

In the Kharkiv region, investigators of the National Police of Ukraine registered 3,831 (in particular, 37 in the last day) war crimes committed by invaders during the occupation.

Kherson and Region

On December 17, the Russian occupiers shelled the suburb of Kherson, the village of Stepanivka, with a mortar. Shells hit the headquarters of humanitarian aid. Details were reported by the Kherson City Council.
The enemy strike of the Russian occupiers damaged the building of the school, hospital and church. The head of the Kherson regional military administration, Yaroslav Yanushevich, noted that the Russian army struck the Kherson geriatric center in the village of Stepanivka.

It is emphasized that the enemy deliberately targeted an institution that provides assistance to the elderly. In the building of the center, the gates were destroyed, the windows and doors were broken, and there was damage to the roof and the porch.

According to the Kherson City Council, 1 woman died of her injuries, and 2 more people were hospitalized.

Mykolaiv and Region

As of December 17, since the beginning of the Russian invasion, 14,183 civilian objects have been partially or completely damaged in the Mykolaiv region (+14 in the last day). This was reported in the press service of the Mykolaiv regional military administration. 6,033 consumers remain without gas supply. At this time, electricity supply, water supply, and drainage have been stopped in 75 settlements.

Zaporizhzhia and Region

Over the last day, Russian troops attacked 17 settlements in the Zaporizhzhia region. This is reported by the regional military administration. 18 reports were received about the destruction of houses (apartments) of citizens and infrastructure objects as a result of Russian shelling.

Confirmed: 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, European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Government Office for the Coordination of Ukraine.

[Writer Irina Mirochnik is the President at IMMER Group & Doctor of Philosophy in Law(PhD)]

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