Akm Shehabuddin Kisslu: .A team of experts commissioned by the U.N.’s top human rights body to look into rights violations in Ukraine said Friday its initial investigation turned up evidence of war crimes in the country following Russia’s invasion nearly seven months ago. The UN commission has reported evidence of executions, torture and sexual violence in four areas formerly under Russian occupation. Some of the victims included children.
“Based on the evidence gathered by the Commission, it has concluded that war crimes have been committed in Ukraine,” the Commission of Inquiry chief told the UN Human Rights Council.
The commission was set up in May to investigate claims of war crimes. They have so far focused on four regions: Kyiv, Kharkiv, Sumy and Chernihiv.
“We were struck by the large number of executions in the areas that we visited. The commission is currently investigating such deaths in 16 towns and settlements,” said Erik Mose, the commission’s chairman.
“This is of course a novel incident but we certainly intend to look into the Izium event as well,” he said, referring to the city in eastern Ukraine where hundreds of bodies have been uncovered. According to Ukrainian officials, 436 bodies were exhumed from a mass burial site near the recently liberated city.
“Most of them have signs of violent death, and 30 have signs of torture. There are bodies with rope around their necks, with their hands tied, with broken limbs and gunshot wounds,” said Kharkiv regional governor Oleg Synegubov.
Asked about whether crimes against humanity had been committed, Mose said the commission had not yet come to that conclusion.
Presenting their most extensive findings so far, they cited testimonies by former detainees of beatings, electric shocks and forced nudity in Russian detention facilities, and expressed grave concerns about executions the team was working to document in the four regions.
The UN investigators spoke with over 150 victims and witnesses and visited 27 towns and settlements where they also investigated graves as well as detention and torture centers.
The team also looked into two cases of mistreatment of Russians by Ukrainian soldiers.
During a 10-day June trip to Ukraine, the team visited Bucha, a city outside Kyiv where Ukrainian authorities found mass graves and bodies strewn in the streets after Russian forces pulled out in late March.
“We were struck by the large number of executions in the areas that we visited. The commission is currently investigating such deaths in 16 towns and settlements,” Mose said. He didn’t specify who or which side in the war allegedly committed the killings.
The commission’s work could ultimately contribute to the work of International Criminal Court prosecutors who could bring charges over war crimes in Ukraine, although it remains uncertain whether Russia or other alleged perpetrators will ever face justice.
