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

RUSSIAN WAR CRIMES AGAINST UKRAINE

IRINA MIROCHNIK

RUSSIAN WAR CRIMES AND HUMAN RIGHT VIOLATIONS IN THE WAR AGAINST UKRAINE, August 25, 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 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 August 25, 2022, since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 376 children have died and more than 733 children have been injured. Due to the active hostilities in affected regions, there is no possibility to inspect the areas of shelling and destruction.

On August 24, the Russian army launched a missile attack on the town of Chaplyne in the Synelnykove district of the Dnipro region. Two children aged 6 and 11 were killed, five more children were injured.

On August 24, two children, aged 10 and 16, were injured as a result of shelling of the civilian infrastructure of Novyi Bug, Mykolaiv region.

On the night of August 25, the occupiers shelled the village. Velykomykhailivka, Synelnykove district. Three children aged 2, 7 and 15 were injured.

Donetsk and Luhansk Regions

During the day of August 24, the Russian occupiers killed three civilians of Donbas. This was reported by the head of the Donetsk regional military administration, Pavlo Kyrylenko. 1 more person was injured.

Donetsk police documented 20 shellings over the day on August 24. This was reported by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. The Russian ary attacked 12 settlements. It is specified that the enemy attacked civilians with rockets, artillery, “Grad” and “Uragan” MLRSs. The occupying forces destroyed and

damaged 20 civilian objects – 15 residential buildings, a kindergarten, utility premises, and a garden society.

In particular, around 4:00 a.m., the Russians struck Sloviansk with the S-300 SAM. High-rise and private houses were destroyed.

Kharkiv and Region

As the head of the Kharkiv regional military administration Oleh Synegubov reported, the Russian army shelled Kharkiv and two districts of the region during the past day. As a result of the attacks, an educational institution, private houses, commercial buildings were damaged, several fires broke out. According to the Center for Emergency Medical Assistance, 2 civilians were hospitalized with injuries during the day.

Today, August 25, 11 residential buildings were destroyed by Russian MLRS attacks in the urban-type village of Mala Danylivka. This was reported by the National Police of the region. As a result of the shelling, three cars were damaged and pets were killed. There are victims. They were hospitalized.

On August 25, a 62-year-old man was killed and his wife was wounded as a result of Russian shelling in the village of Lebiazhe, Chuhuiv district, Kharkiv region. This was reported by Oleh Synegubov.

Kherson and Region

The settlements of the Kherson Region, which the Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated from the Russians, were completely destroyed by the occupiers. This was announced by the head of the Kherson regional military administration, Yaroslav Yanushevych.

The Russian military looted the surviving property — 100 tons of sunflower seeds, 80 tons of wheat, and 3 tons of fertilizers in Nova Kamianka. Representatives of business also suffer from the aggression of extortionists: in Kherson, the occupiers looted and appropriated the property of a private company, which was taken to an unknown destination. The amount of material damage is approximately 70 thousand dollars. In Nova Kakhovka, the Russian military seized the territory of an energy company, as a result of which the company lost control over its own assets — special transport, worth more than UAH 6 million.

Mykolaiv and Region

During the day, enemy troops shelled Mykolaiv and six more settlements in the region. This is reported by the National Police.

As reported by the head of the regional military administration, Vitaliy Kim, the Russians attacked Mykolaiv with rockets of the Smerch MLRS. The attack was aimed at the port infrastructure.

It is known about the destruction and damage of residential buildings in Mykolaiv and populated areas of the region.

Yesterday, August 24, as a result of an attack on Novyi Bug, five civilians were injured, two of them – children aged 10 and 16. 20 residential buildings, shop premises, pharmacies, hairdressers and administrative buildings were damaged.

The settlements of Kotlyarevo, Novomykolaivka and Chervona Dolyna were also shelled. Agricultural buildings were destroyed there.

On the territory of the Halytsynove community, as a result of shelling by Russian troops, forest plantations caught fire.

Khmelnytskyi and Region

On August 24, Russian missiles hit the Shepetivka district, Serhii Hamalii, the head of the Khmelnytskyi regional military administration, reported.

As a result of two strikes, windows and doors in civilian houses and a school were broken. There are also victims among the civilian population — a woman and two children sought medical help.

Dnipro and Region

On August 24, Russian troops shelled the Chaplyne railway station in the Dnipro region. As a result of the impact, 25 people died (including 2 children), five of them burned to death in the car. 31 people were injured, including four children, three of them in serious condition (mine-explosive injuries, burns and fractures).

According to the Office of the Prosecutor General, the strikes were carried out by an Iskander missile. In addition, remnants of projectiles from the Smerch MLRS and S-300 SAM were found at the sites of shelling. Private houses were destroyed, a passenger train and the administrative building of the railway station were damaged (photo below).

On the night of August 25, the Russian army shelled four districts of the region.

8 people were injured as a result of the strikes in Synelnykove district. Among them are 3 girls, the youngest is only 2 years old. All the injured are in hospital. Several residential buildings were mutilated in the community. The power grid is damaged. This was reported by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in the Dnipro region.

Zaporizhzhia and Region

As a result of enemy shelling on August 24, 8 high-rise buildings were damaged in Zaporizhzhia. This is reported by the city hall. In addition, infrastructure facilities were damaged in two districts of the city.

According to the mayor of Energodar Dmytro Orlov, the Russians set fire to a forest near the city where the Zaporizhzhia NPP is located.

As a result of the fire, there was a short circuit, due to which there is no electricity and water in Energodar. Melitopol and Berdiansk districts were also left without electricity.

On Thursday, August 25, Russian invaders massively shelled Orikhiv with artillery. A 17-year-old boy died as a result of the attack. He was seriously injured and died on the way to the hospital. A 66-year-old woman was seriously injured. Dozens of private houses were destroyed. Oleksandr Starukh, the head of the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration, announced this.

On August 25, the Zaporizhzhia NPP was shut down as a result of hostilities in the area where the NPP is located. This was reported by the State Nuclear Regulation Inspection of Ukraine.

As a result, two working power units of the station were disconnected from the network. Thus, the actions of the invaders caused a complete disconnection of the ZNPP from the power grid – the first in the history of the plant – reports NAEC Energoatom.

“Energoatom” emphasizes that there are currently no issues on the operation of automation and safety systems.

Due to enemy shelling of the Zaporizhzhia NPP, part of the hospitals in the temporarily occupied territories were left without power supply and the ability to function normally. The lives of people who are currently in operating rooms, on ventilators, and in intensive care units in Kherson and part of Zaporizhia regions are at risk. This was announced by the head of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, Viktor Liashko.

27-08-2022

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

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