The Armed Forces of Ukraine are establishing military bases and placing military equipment in residential areas, thus endangering civilians. This is stated in the report published on Thursday, August 4, by the human rights organization Amnesty International (AI). A press release from the organization emphasizes that such tactics violate international humanitarian law – but they do not justify indiscriminate strikes, including on civilian targetsinflicted by Russian troops.
In April-June, AI experts investigated for several weeks shelling of cities and villages by the RF Armed Forces in Kharkov, Donetsk and Nikolaev regions. Testimonies from local residents and analysis of satellite images showed that the Armed Forces of Ukraine were based in residential areas in at least 19 settlements during the specified period, and fired from them Russian positions, thereby exposing local residents to return fire. At the same time, the experts found no signs that Ukrainian servicemen asked civilians to evacuate from these areas, or helped them in such an evacuation.
In five locations, Amnesty International staff documented the establishment of UAF bases in hospitals. In addition, the presence of Ukrainian soldiers was noted in 22 of the 29 schools they visited. In particular, we are talking about the placement of military equipment in these facilities. In Bakhmut, Ukrainian troops used the building of the local university as a base, from which the nearest residential buildings are only about 50 meters away. On May 21, the Russian Armed Forces attacked him, killing, according to the Ukrainian side, seven soldiers.
Russia unmotivated shelling of residential areas
At the same time, in many other cases, AI experts did not find any signs of the presence of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in residential areas and objects on which Russian troops launched rocket and artillery strikes. Including such strikes were inflicted using internationally prohibited cluster munitions- which was recorded by human rights activists in Kharkov. In some cases, the RF Armed Forces struck with insufficiently accurate weapons, while in others their accuracy was sufficient to prevent unintentional hits on civilians.
Amnesty International called on both sides of the conflict to do everything possible so that civilians are not killed or injured during the hostilities. In particular, “the government of Ukraine should immediately make sure that it deploys its armed forces away from residential areas, or evacuates residents of such areas if military operations are carried out there,” said Agnès Calamar, secretary general of the international human rights organization.
According to a press release, AI transmitted its findings to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine on July 29, but has not yet received a response from the department.
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The largest Russian strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine
Civilian targets in sight
In more than five months of a full-scale war, Russia has dealt many blows to Ukrainian civilian targets. Schools, hospitals, shopping centers, streets and squares, residential areas became the target of rockets, aerial bombs, artillery shells. The number of those killed and wounded in these attacks runs into the thousands.
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The largest Russian strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine
Horror of Vinnitsa
On July 14, a rocket attack was delivered on one of the central squares of Vinnitsa. Residential buildings, the House of Officers, and an office building were damaged. 24 people died, including three children: a four-year-old girl and two boys, aged 7 and 8. 182 victims applied for help. The Russian Federation stated that the target was the House of Officers, where allegedly “a meeting of the command of the Ukrainian Air Force with foreign suppliers of weapons” was held.
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The largest Russian strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine
Five-story building in Chasovoy Yar
The city of Chasov Yar in the territory of the Donetsk region controlled by Kyiv was shelled on the evening of July 9. The missile of the Iskander complex, originally designed to destroy well-defended strategic objects, hit residential buildings. The entrance of one high-rise building – a hostel – completely collapsed, another house was badly damaged. The bodies of 48 victims were recovered from the rubble, including a 9-year-old boy.
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The largest Russian strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine
Recreation center in Odessa region
On the night of July 1, the Russian army fired three X-22 cruise missiles at the Belgorod-Dnestrovsky district of the Odessa region. Two rockets hit the popular resort village of Sergeevka, destroying two recreation centers, one of which belonged to Moldova. Another rocket almost completely destroyed one of the sections of a five-story residential building. 22 people were killed, 30 were injured, including three children.
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The largest Russian strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine
Shopping center in Kremenchuk
On June 27, Tu-22M3 bombers of the Russian Air Force launched Kh-22 cruise missiles at Kremenchug. According to the version of the Russian Defense Ministry, the blow was delivered “on hangars with weapons and ammunition received from the United States and European countries” in the area of the Kredmash plant. One of the rockets destroyed the factory greenhouses and one of the workshops, the second hit the Amstor shopping and entertainment center, where hundreds of people were. 21 people died.
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The largest Russian strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine
Shelling of the railway station in Kramatorsk
On April 8, at the time of the rocket attack on the railway station in Kramatorsk, there were hundreds of people waiting for evacuation on its territory. 61 people were killed, including seven children, and dozens were injured. The Tochka-U missile was fired from the territory of the so-called “DPR”. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation stated that there were no missiles of this type in service with Russia, which was refuted by international investigators.
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The largest Russian strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine
Drama theater in Mariupol
On March 16, Russian aircraft destroyed the drama theater in the center of Mariupol by dropping heavy air bombs on the building. The people who were there were not saved by the word “Children”, written in huge white letters in front and behind the building. According to various sources, from 300 to 600 people died. The Russian Defense Ministry stated that the theater was not bombed, and the explosion was the result of a provocation by fighters from the Azov regiment, who destroyed the building from the inside.
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The largest Russian strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine
Children’s hospital and maternity hospital in Mariupol
On March 9, Russian troops launched an airstrike on a maternity hospital and a children’s hospital in the center of Mariupol. As a result, 5 people died, including a pregnant woman with a child. At least 17 people were injured. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced a completely “staged provocation.” The Russian Foreign Ministry claimed that the hospital served as a stronghold for militants who expelled medical staff and women in labor from the building.
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The largest Russian strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine
Regional administration of Nikolaev
On March 29, an air strike hit the building of the regional administration of Nikolaev. As a result of a rocket hit, the central section of the building from the 1st to the 9th floors was completely destroyed. The fire didn’t happen. The explosion also damaged several nearby residential and administrative buildings. 36 people died. 34 bodies were pulled out from under the rubble, two more wounded later died in the hospital.
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The largest Russian strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine
Regional administration of Kharkiv
On March 1, Russian missiles hit the building of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration. As a result, ceilings were destroyed, windows were broken, and the roof was damaged. In total, 24 people died as a result of the strike, and about ten more were injured. The victims were not only people who were inside the building, most of which was destroyed, but also those who were passing by at the time of the impact.
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The largest Russian strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine
Number of civilian casualties
According to the UN, for the period from the beginning of hostilities to July 12, the death of 5,100 civilians in Ukraine, 346 of which are children, has been confirmed. The number of wounded civilians exceeded 6,500. The real number of civilian casualties is likely much higher, a UN official said.
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The largest Russian strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine
War crimes
According to the Geneva Conventions, war crimes that do not have a statute of limitations include, among other things, “deliberate attacks against the civilian population”, “attacking or shelling towns, villages, dwellings or buildings that are not protected and not military purposes, using any there was money.” Punishment of those guilty of war crimes is within the competence of the International Criminal Court.
Author: Vitaly Kropman
