UN confirms Russian war crimes in Ukraine

The independent UN mission created to investigate the invasion of Ukraine has confirmed that Russia has committed war crimes in the country during the war. These crimes include summary executions or sexual violence against children, to which the Ukrainian delegation has asked to create a court to judge these abuses at the highest level.

The president of the mission, Erik Mose, appeared today for the first time before the United Nations Human Rights Council, which approved this investigation in March, to enumerate a long list of war crimes in the zones of kyiv, Kharkov, Chernihiv and Sumithe areas that have been studied so far.

“We have been impressed by the large number of executions perpetrated in the areas we have visited,” stressed the Norwegian expert, who has indicated that these murders have been identified in at least 16 locations, with evidence such as hands tied behind the backs of the victims, shots in the head or throats slit.

Mose has also explained cases of children “raped, tortured and illegally detained”and cases of sexual violence committed by Russian soldiers “in which the age of the victims ranges from four to 82 years”, sometimes forcing their relatives to witness the abuse.

In addition, he has also cited examples of possible war crimes, such as torture in illegal detention centers, electric shocks, and forced nudity.

Other war crimes that the UN has confirmed include attacks with explosive weapons on residential areas, schools or hospitals, in which, according to the organization, some 6,000 civilians have died.

Following the oral mission report, a full document of their investigations will be presented at the Council session in March 2023.

The Ukrainian delegation, for its part, has asked the same UN body for the creation of a specific court to try crimes of Russian war during the invasion.