Amnesty says Russia guilty of war crimes in Kharkiv shelling
10:19 JST, June 14, 2022
PARIS (Reuters) – Russia’s relentless shelling of the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv with cluster munitions and scatterable land mines amounts to a war crime that indiscriminately killed hundreds of civilians, Amnesty International said on Monday.
Ukraine’s second largest city Kharkiv was under near-constant bombardment from the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 until Ukrainian forces pushed the Russians away from the city in May. Ukraine has said 606 civilians were killed there and 600,000 evacuated.
Amnesty said that it had found during a 14-day investigation in April and early May evidence that Russia had used cluster munitions and scatterable mines in Kharkiv.
“The repeated bombardments of residential neighbourhoods in Kharkiv are indiscriminate attacks which killed and injured hundreds of civilians, and as such constitute war crimes,” Amnesty said in a report.
Russia’s defence ministry did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on the Amnesty report. In the past, Russia has denied targeting civilians and accused Ukraine of faking evidence of war crimes.
Neither Russia nor Ukraine are signatories to an international agreement that bans cluster munitions. But the use of such weapons is still a war crime if it is indiscriminate and kills or harms civilians, Amnesty International research consultant Jean-Baptiste Gallopin told Reuters.
As an example, he cited a cluster munitions strike on a playground on Kharkiv’s Mira Street, which he said killed nine people and wounded 35.
Gallopin said Amnesty had also found that Ukrainian forces had violated international humanitarian law by positioning artillery near residential buildings, attracting Russian fire, though he said this “in no way justifies the relentless indiscriminate shelling of the city by Russian forces”.
Ukraine’s defence ministry could not be reached for immediate comment.
"News Services" POPULAR ARTICLE
-
Dollar Edges Lower, Yen at 34-year Trough
-
Japan Visitors Exceed 3 Mln in March, a Monthly Record, Tourism Agency Says
-
EU Ratchets up Pressure on TikTok’s New Rewards App over Risks to Kids, Warns of Suspension
-
Japan’s Nikkei Ends 1% Higher after Sharp Fall; Chip-Related Shares Weigh (Update 1)
-
Japan’s Yen Hits 155 Per Dollar, Weakest Since 1990
JN ACCESS RANKING
- China Mutes Memorialization of Reformer Hu Yaobang; Memories Could Spark Critique of Xi Administration
- Shinkansen Services Suspended After Man ‘Searches for Phone’ on Tracks; Disruption Affects About 14,000 Passengers
- U.S. 7th Fleet officer Arrested on Suspicion of Stealing Sushi, Sashimi, Chicken at Kanagawa Shopping Mall; Suspect Caught Mid-Meal
- UNRWA Director Describes Catastrophic Destruction in Gaza; Says Relief Trucks Robbed, ‘People’s Hearts Destroyed’
- JAL Airplane Experiences Radio Malfunction During Flight, Lands Safely By Relying on Light Signals