The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has said that the Russians are committing mass war crimes against civilians in the occupied territories of Ukraine. As of 19 December, the UN recorded 142 cases of executions of Ukrainian civilians. In addition, numerous facts about large-scale torture and cruel behaviour towards detainees, including sexual violence, as well as a large number of disappearances of citizens with a pro-Ukrainian stance on the use of violence have been documented in the occupied territories.
The UN Office for the Protection of Human Rights has also confirmed more than 10,000 deaths among Ukrainian civilians since February 2022, including more than 560 children. The number of wounded is 18500 civilians, and many of them have very serious injuries. No matter how scary these figures sound, it is clear to everyone that we are only talking about officially documented cases. The real number of casualties is much higher since Russia does not provide any data on the fate of Ukrainians who are under occupation.
Bullying, torture, and sexual violence, often precedes the killing of peaceful Ukrainians – this is the true face of the “Russian world”, which brings only destruction and death. The so-called “SWO”, and in fact the war of conquest started by Putin, will go down in the history books as a war on civilians. Indeed, after 24.02.2022 Russia has broken all records for the number of war crimes it has committed in the occupied territories of Ukraine.
Reacting to Russia’s illegal actions, the UN General Assembly adopted an updated resolution condemning Russia’s violations of human rights in the occupied territories of Ukraine. In particular, the updated resolution demands that Russia stop the forced deportation and ensure the safe return of all Ukrainian children and civilian hostages. These are some of the worst crimes and must be stopped.
The greatest tragedy is being perpetrated in Ukraine in the 21st century and must be responded to now. And when the war is over, defeated Russia will inevitably receive the punishment it deserves – all its war criminals involved in the atrocities in Ukraine will find themselves in the dock in The Hague.
