Selenskyj terminates relations with Syria - Amnesty speaks of war crimes in Mariupol

Created: 06/30/2022, 16:29

By: Felix Durach

Ukraine cuts all diplomatic ties with Syria.

Amnesty International classifies bombing of Mariupol as a war crime.

The news ticker.

• Amnesty International

  classifies attacks on theaters in Mariupol as a

  war crime

  : after three months of research, the human rights organization has published a report.

• Zelenskyj

  announces severing of all diplomatic

  relations with Syria

  : The President reacts to the recognition of the self-proclaimed People's Republics of Luhansk and Donetsk by Damascus.

• This news ticker about the

  Ukraine war

  negotiations is updated regularly.

Kyiv – The human rights organization Amnesty International has classified the attack on the theater in the eastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol in March as a war crime.

According to its own statements, the organization collected evidence for three months and presented a final report with the corresponding result on Thursday.

"The attack on the theater in Mariupol is a war crime by Russian troops," said Julia Duchrow of Amnesty International Germany.

Ukraine-News: Amnesty International classifies attacks on theaters in Mariupol as war crimes

It is assumed that Russian troops had probably dropped two 500-kilo bombs on the theater.

The residents of the hard-fought port city had sought shelter there.

According to the report, at least 12 people were killed in the attack and "many others" were seriously injured.

The statements of 52 survivors were included in the report.

The reported minimum number of casualties is lower than previous estimates because large numbers of people left the theater in the days leading up to the attack.

Also, many of those who remained would have sought shelter in the basement of the theater, which was not hit by the full force of the explosion.

The human rights organization Amnesty International has classified the bombing of the theater in Mariupol as a war crime (archive photo).

© Maximilian Clarke/dpa

War in Ukraine: Zelenskyy announces termination of all diplomatic relations with Syria

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced that all diplomatic relations with Syria will be severed.

The head of state is reacting to the Syrian government's decision to recognize the self-proclaimed People's Republics of Luhansk and Donetsk.

This made Syria the first country after Russia to recognize the two separatist areas.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 21 that Russia would recognize the two separatist republics.

Three days later, on February 24, the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine began.

"There will be no more relations between Ukraine and Syria," Zelenskyy said in a video message on Telegram.

The president described the government's decision in Damascus as "insignificant history", but warned of increasing sanctions pressure.

In 2018, like Russia before it, Syria also recognized the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Georgia.

Syria and Russia have been allies for decades.

Since 2015, Moscow has also supported the Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in his country's civil war.