RUSSIAN WAR CRIMES AND HUMAN RIGHT VIOLATIONS IN THE WAR AGAINST UKRAINE, June 22, 2022

UKRAINE: RUSSIAN WAR CRIMES AND HUMAN RIGHT VIOLATIONS

IRINA MIROCHNIK

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 22, 2022, since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 324 children have died and more than 592 children have been injured. Due to the active hostilities in affected regions, there is no possibility to inspect the areas of shelling and destruction. The actual data on dead and injured children in these regions are currently being established.

As a result of the bombing and shelling by the Russian armed forces, 2,052 educational institutions were damaged. Of these, 210 were completely destroyed.

“The use of weapons of mass destruction against civilians is a crime against humanity and a violation of the four Geneva Conventions of 1949.”

Donetsk and Luhansk Regions

Troops of the Russian Federation during the past 24 hours struck 29 blows on Donetsk region. The invaders fired on 18 settlements. This was reported by the National Police.

The invaders attacked peaceful settlements with S-300 missiles, Grad and Uragan MLRS systems, artillery and tanks.

The occupiers destroyed and damaged 61 civilian buildings – 40 residential buildings, including 4 apartment buildings, two schools, a coke plant, a power substation, a railway, administrative buildings, farm buildings and a concentrator.

As a result of the occupiers’ attack on the beach in Chasiv Yar, there are dead and wounded, children were injured.

Yesterday, June 21, Russian occupation forces struck a beach on Lake Zolota Rybka, in Chasiv Yar, Donetsk region. According to the preliminary information, they used cluster shells. This was announced by the head of the regional military administration Pavlo Kyrylenko.

According to preliminary information, six children were injured in the shelling. Also 5 adults were injured, one more died.

The Russian occupiers fired on all settlements in the Luhansk region.

As a result of attacks, 42 houses were destroyed and people were injured.

This was reported in the press service of the National Police of the region.

As it became known, the occupiers fired artillery at the region. As a result, administrative buildings and residential buildings were damaged. Nine houses were destroyed in Hirske last night, seven in Zolote, and 12 in Novoivanivka.

For the past 24hrs, at least three civilians have been killed and wounded in the enemy shelling of Lysychansk, Luhansk region.

This was announced today, June 22, in the press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.

In Mariupol, the occupiers are simultaneously building modular buildings and fortifications, covering the line of defense with a human shield. The adviser to the mayor of Mariupol Petro Andriushchenko reported about it.

According to him, the fortifications and houses are located near the suburban bus station, at the exit towards Mangush.

In the temporarily occupied Mariupol, the occupiers promise financial assistance for the destroyed housing, if residents sign a document accusing the Ukrainian Armed Forces of doing so. But this is just propaganda.

This was announced on June 22 by Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko. Boichenko said that in Mariupol, 90% of critical infrastructure has been destroyed, 50% of the housing sector has been burned, there is no gas, electricity, and most importantly – no drinking water and food.

“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.”

Kharkiv and Region

On Tuesday, June 21, the Russian occupiers continued to fire on Kharkiv and the region. This was announced by the head of the Kharkiv regional military administra- tion Oleh Synegubov.

According to him, in the afternoon of June 21, the Russian occupiers fired en masse on the city of Kharkiv. Russian troops opened fire on residential areas of the city, killing five people. Eleven more were wounded.

Also, as a result of enemy shelling, three residents of the village of Udy in the Zolochiv district were killed.

An 8-year-old girl died as a result of the shelling of Kharkiv district. Her mother was injured.

In the evening, the occupiers fired on the Chuhuiv community: six civilians were killed and four others were wounded.

In total, 15 people were killed and 16 were injured in the June 21 shelling in Kharkiv region.

At night and in the morning of June 22, the Russian occupation forces continued to shell Kharkiv and the settlements of the region, killing and wounding civilians. This was announced by the head of the regional military administration Oleh Synegubov.

At night, the occupiers shelled the Slobidsky and Industrialnyi districts of Kharkiv.

Economic and industrial facilities were damaged, and several large-scale fires occurred. In the morning they fired on the Nemyshlyanskyi district of Kharkiv. According to preliminary information, three people were injured.

“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.”

The Russians also continued shelling Chuhuiv in the Kharkiv region, destroying residential buildings and outbuildings. On Wednesday, June 22, Russian troops launched another missile strike on Chuhuiv. As a result, employees of the local utility company died. The mayor of the city Galina Minaeva reported about it. According to preliminary data, two people were killed and two were injured.

In an urban-type settlement in Zolochiv, an apartment building was damaged by shelling and a fire broke out. The body of one victim was removed from the rubble, there is a possibility that two more people are under the rubble.

One person was injured in the Russian shelling of Shevchenkove last night.

Sumy and Region

Yesterday, in the afternoon, the enemy fired 120 mm mortars at the border of Sumy region. The fire was fired from the Russian settlements of Demydivka and Poroz. In total, more than 40 explosions were recorded on the territory of the Krasnopillia community.

As a result of the shelling, six people were injured, and civilian infrastructure was damaged in one of the settlements. A car was also damaged.

Zaporizhzhia and Region

In the Zaporizhzhia region due to enemy shelling, residential buildings were damaged, there are victims. The official website of the Komyshuvakha community reports that on the evening of June 21, the Russian military fired artillery at the village of Novoyakovlivka. As a result of the attack, the houses of the village were damaged – broken windows, broken doors, broken roofs. An elderly man was also wounded in an enemy attack and hospitalized.

The occupiers continue to steal Ukrainian grain from the temporarily occupied territories of the Zaporizhzhia region. To do this, they are preparing a port in Berdiansk and brought a train to Melitopol, according to Zaporizhzhia regional mil- itary administration.

The occupiers are clearing the waters of the Berdiansk trading port to export grain cynically looted from Ukrainian reserves.

Dnipro and Region

According to the Dnipro Regional Prosecutor’s Office, on the night of June 22, Russian military fired artillery at the Kryvyi Rih district. As a result of the enemy shelling, the house of culture, the village council and the territory of the central square of the city, four shops, a garage, power lines and a gas pipeline were damaged. There are no military facilities in the area.

Mykolaiv and Region

In the morning, on June 21, in Mykolaiv Russian missile strikes hit an industrial object, buildings of the enterprises were damaged. The residential neighborhoods were also hit with prohibited cluster munitions. One of the cluster shells broke in the yard of a private house. A man who was there died on the spot, another was injured and is receiving medical treatment. The Mykolaiv regional state administration reports about it.

There were shellings in the Shyroke community of the Bashtanka district. The roof of the school and three residential buildings were damaged. There were hits on agricultural land.

The Ingulka community was shelled. Two people were injured.

As a result of shelling of the village of Solonchaky of the Kutsurub community of the Mykolaiv area the social infrastructure is damaged.

The shelling of the city of Ochakiv was recorded. One person was injured. Two social infrastructure facilities, port infrastructure, residential buildings, garages and cars were damaged. Harvested fields and dry grass were burning in the suburbs. 250 subscribers were left without gas supply.

During the day, the villages of Pervomaiske and Novomykolaivka were shelled. A person was injured and houses were damaged. Dry grass and fields with the harvest were burning.

During the afternoon shelling was recorded in the village of Chervone of the Voskre- senske community. One person was injured. The Mishkovo-Pohorilivska community was also shelled, resulting in damaged industrial infrastructure.

For the past 24hrs in the Mykolaiv area 18 people were wounded. The head of the Mykolaiv regional council Anna Zamazeeva reported about it.

On June 22 as a result of Russian missile attack on Mykolaiv, several buildings of the city, including school, are damaged. As of now, it is known about one person killed and two people injured in the explosions. Two enterprises on the territory of which were fuel and lubricants were affected. The windows of the school building were broken, the roof was damaged. Five high-rise buildings were damaged – they have broken doors in the entrance, windows. The mayor of Mykolaiv Oleksandr Senkevich reports about it.

According to the mayor, information about the victims is still being clarified.

The head of the Mykolaiv regional military administration Vitaly Kim confirmed rocket attacks at Mykolaiv on June 22. According to him, the occupiers fired seven missiles at the city.

Kherson and Region

According to the Kochubeyivka village territorial community, a large-scale fire in the field and forest occurred in the Kherson region as a result of mass shelling by Russian troops.

The fire spread to the village. As a result, outbuildings burned down.

In addition, residential houses were severely damaged, power lines were cut off and cattle were killed.

24-06-2022 [ Writer Irina Mirochnik is the President at IMMER Group & Doctor of Philosophy in Law(PhD)]

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