The UN accuses Russia of war crimes in Ukraine with "summary executions" even of children

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kremlin troops have committed acts that can be considered war crimes, according to the result of a United Nations investigation that was made public on Wednesday.

“There are strong indications that the summary executions documented in this report may constitute a war crime,” says Matilda Bogner, head of the Human Rights Observation Mission in Ukraine.

The investigation even includes two cases of summary executions of children.

The work on the ground has made it possible to document the deaths of hundreds of civilians at the hands of the Russian military in the provinces of kyiv, Chernihiv and Sumi between February 24, the first day of the large-scale invasion, and April 6, when the invading troops were repelled in the surroundings of the Ukrainian capital.

During those six weeks and in those three provinces, the United Nations has managed to confirm the violent death of 441 civilians (341 men, 72 women, 20 boys and 8 girls).

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These murders of civilians were not limited to specific points, although the UN acknowledges that there were locations where the Russian military committed them with more intensity.

This is the case of Bucha, in the kyiv metropolitan belt, some of whose streets ended up littered with corpses after the departure of the occupying troops.

There, the mission documented the murder of 73 civilians (54 men, 16 women, 2 boys and 1 girl) and is trying to confirm another 105 cases.

Scenarios such as Yablunska street have served to explain that the war in Bucha was not just a confrontation between the two armies.

"I'm a civilian, I'm a civilian, don't shoot!" the neighbors heard before the Russians shot Oleg, a neighbor cook on that street, according to testimonies collected by EL PAÍS.

Security checks by uniformed officers

Summary executions often took place after security checks deployed by Russian soldiers in areas under their control.

“A simple text message, a piece of camouflage clothing or a previous military service record could have fatal consequences,” Bogner noted.

Likewise, the report also reports cases in which they carried out attacks without differentiating military objectives from civilians or doing anything on their part to protect them, as required by international law that regulates conflicts, especially the Geneva Convention.

“Civilians were attacked on the roads while moving within or between settlements, including while trying to flee hostilities,” Bogner added.

On March 4,

the couple formed by Oleksandr and Natalia tried to escape in their car from Bucha when they began to shoot at them.

He was saved;

her, no, according to what her relatives told this newspaper.

The figure of 441 deaths does not mean that these are the only deaths of this type that may have taken place in the places visited by the observation mission.

Therefore, the report warns that the real figures are almost certainly considerably higher, since they are in the process of corroborating another 198 murders that took place in those three provinces during the period in which they remained occupied by Russia.

The report examines over a hundred murders in more detail, of which 57 amounted to summary executions (48 men, 7 women and 2 children).

A total of 30 took place in places of detention, while the remaining 27 victims were killed outright, shortly after coming under the control of Russian forces.

“Russian soldiers took civilians to makeshift detention places and then executed them in captivity.

Many of the bodies of the victims were found with their hands tied behind their backs and bullet wounds to the head,” Bogner explained.

This supports the first evidence collected at the crime scenes and the data that the Ukrainian authorities have been announcing.

Numerous national and international institutions are investigating war crimes committed in Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on February 24.

Among the agents coming from abroad, there is a team of national police and civil guards who have arrived from Spain in recent days.

The UN is aware that "much remains to be done to hold those responsible accountable", while acknowledging that it is not aware that "the Russian authorities have been actively investigating or prosecuting any of these cases", something that Bogner demands from Russia.

The total number of civilian deaths from February 24 to December 5 stands at 6,702, of which 424 are minors, according to the UN count.

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