UN Independent Commission Accuses Russia of Committing ‘War Crimes’

Sudan Events – Agencies 

Two years after Russia began its war in Ukraine, a new report Friday from an independent commission set up by the UN accuses Russia of war crimes, which Moscow does not address nor offer any response.
“Two years after the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, civilian suffering is mounting as a result of Russia’s disregard for basic principles of humanitarian law and its human rights obligations,” the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine said in its report.
The Commission said that for this report, it visited Ukraine 16 times, went to 34 settlements in nine provinces, and interviewed 860 people.
“During its second mandate, the Commission has gathered further evidence of violations and crimes committed by Russian authorities in areas they controlled,” said commission chair Erik Mose, a Norwegian judge.
“It has documented the war crimes of torture, willful killing, rape and other sexual violence, and unlawful confinement, as well as the corresponding human rights violations,” said the report.
Russian authorities had access to the report before it was published but did not respond.
Scale of violations
“We are concerned at the scale, continuation, and gravity of violations and crimes that the Commission has investigated and the impact on victims and the affected communities,” said Mose.
Commissioner Vrinda Grover, an Indian lawyer, said: “The Commission has addressed a total of 23 written communications to the Russian Federation, seeking access as well as information. All our communications remain unanswered.”
She said the current report focuses on torture against Ukrainian prisoners of war and describes cases of horrific treatment of such prisoners in several detention facilities in Russia.
“Victims’ accounts disclose relentless, brutal treatment inflicting severe pain and suffering during prolonged detention, with blatant disregard for human dignity.