top of page
Lemkin Institute

Some Russian abuses in Ukraine may be crimes against humanity - UN inquiry finds


A flag is seen on a building during the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland February 27, 2023. [REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo]

GENEVA, March 16 (Reuters) - Russia has committed wide-ranging war crimes in Ukraine such as wilful killings and torture, a U.N.-mandated investigative body said on Thursday, in some cases making children watch loved ones being raped and detaining others alongside dead bodies.


The alleged crimes, including the deportation of children, were detailed in a report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, which said some acts may amount to crimes against humanity.


At her weekly press briefing, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters that Moscow regularly heard accusations like these.


She added that if those behind such reports supported objectivity "then we are ready to analyse specific cases, answer questions, provide data, statistics and facts. But if they are biased, if they represent only one point of view ... then there is no use responding to these reports."


Russia denies committing atrocities or attacking civilians in Ukraine.


Based on more than 500 interviews as well as satellite images and visits to detention sites and graves, the report comes as the International Criminal Court in The Hague is expected to seek the arrest of Russian officials for forcibly deporting children from Ukraine and attacking civilian infrastructure.


It said Russian forces carried out "indiscriminate and disproportionate" attacks on Ukraine and called for the perpetrators to be held accountable.


"The ongoing armed conflict in Ukraine has had devastating effects at various levels," Erik Møse, chair of the commission, told a press briefing. "Human losses and the general disregard for the life of civilians...are shocking."


The report said at least 13 waves of Russian attacks since October on Ukraine's energy-related infrastructure as well as its use of torture "may amount to crimes against humanity."


It found that some 16,000 children have been unlawfully transf