Russia committed hundreds of war crimes in Ukraine, OSCE report confirms
Vienna, Jul 14 (EFE).- Russian troops have allegedly committed hundreds of war crimes since the start of the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said in findings released Thursday.
The 115-page report documenting crimes between April 1 and June 25 confirmed “some patterns of violent acts violating International Human Rights Law, which have been repeatedly documented during the conflict, such as targeted killing, enforced disappearance or abduction of civilians.”
The OSCE spoke of the “magnitude and frequency of the indiscriminate attacks carried out against civilians and civilian objects.”
These aggressions are “credible evidence that hostilities were conducted by Russian armed forces disregarding their fundamental obligation to comply with the basic principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution that constitute the fundamental basis of International Humanitarian Law.”
The alleged Russian war crimes were mainly carried out in the Russian-controlled Ukrainian territories, including the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.
The report clarified that the majority of the documented violations were perpetrated by Russian troops, however, it revealed that there have also been some committed by the Ukrainian side, such as mistreating Russian prisoners of war.
The report was prepared by 45 out of the 57 member states of the OSCE to investigate accusations of human rights violations and possible war crimes.
OSCE is an international security organization, which traces its origins to the Cold War dialogue between the West and the communist bloc. EFE
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