War crimes in the Russian invasion of Ukraine

This article is about individual actions during or after the Russian invasion that may be war crimes. For investigation and prosecution of the war crimes, see International Criminal Court investigation in Ukraine. For the legality of the invasion itself in international law, see Legality of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. For the case brought by Ukraine before the International Court of Justice, see Ukraine v. Russian Federation (2022).

During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Russian authorities have been accused of committing war crimes, including using cluster munition in residential areas, attacking humanitarian corridors, medical care facilities and other civilian targets, shooting at unarmed civilians, kidnapping, torturing and forcefully deporting them from occupied Ukrainian territory to Russia. Ukrainian authorities have been accused of abusing Russian prisoners of war. In early March 2022, the International Criminal Court started a full investigation of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Ukraine from 21 November 2013 onwards.

Attacks on civilians

Shelling of Kharkiv regional administration

Shelled residential buildings in Kharkiv Oblast

According to Amnesty International, the Russian invasion of Ukraine was carried out through indiscriminate attacks and strikes on civilian objects such as hospitals. On 25 February, the human rights organisation stated that Russian forces had "shown a blatant disregard for civilian lives by using ballistic missiles and other explosive weapons with wide area effects in densely populated areas". In addition, Russia has falsely claimed to have only used precision-guided weapons. Amnesty International claimed that three attacks, in Vuhledar, Kharkiv and Uman, were likely to constitute war crimes.

On 1 and 2 March, the Russian artillery targeted a densely populated neighbourhood of Mariupol, shelling it for nearly 15 hours. The neighbourhood was significantly destroyed as a result, with deputy mayor Sergei Orlov reporting that "at least hundreds of people [were] dead." On 3 March, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights released a statement saying that it had recorded at least 1006 civilian casualties in the first week of the invasion, but that it believed that "the real figures are considerably higher." On 6 March, the World Health Organization released a statement saying that it had evidence that multiple health care centres in Ukraine had been attacked, with Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus saying that "attacks on healthcare facilities or workers breach medical neutrality and are violations of international humanitarian law."

On 24 March, Amnesty International accused Russia of having repeatedly violated international humanitarian law during the first month of the invasion by conducting indiscriminate attacks, including direct attacks on civilian targets. According to Amnesty International, verified reports and video footage demonstrate numerous strikes on hospitals and schools, and the use of inaccurate explosive weapons and banned weapons such as cluster bombs.

Use of cluster munitions

The Vuhledar attack, at 10:30 (UTC) on 24 February, was the result of a 9M79 Tochka missile, the missile landed next to a hospital and killed four civilians. Amnesty International describe its analysis as "irrefutable evidence of violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law" by Russian forces. Human Rights Watch (HRW) found that the Vuhledar hospital attack used an 9N123 cluster munition, a type of weapon that is prohibited by most states under the Convention on Cluster Munitions because of its immediate and long-term danger to civilians. The 9N123 contains fifty 9N24 individual submunitions, which each split into 316 bomblets. HRW based its analysis on contacts with hospital and municipal administrations and multiple photographic evidence. HRW called for Russian forces to stop making "unlawful attacks with weapons that indiscriminately kill and maim." The press secretary of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov denied this information, saying that such types of ammunition are in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

On 27 February, Amnesty International stated that it had analysed evidence showing that Russian cluster munitions from a 220 mm BM-27 Uragan rocket had hit a preschool in Okhtyrka where civilians were taking shelter on 25 February, killing three, including a child. UAV film showed four hits on the roof of the preschool, three on the ground next to the school, two injured or dead civilians, and pools of blood. Amnesty International analysed 65 photos and videos of the event and interviewed local residents. Bellingcat stated that remains of the 9M27K rocket were found 200 metres east of the kindergarten. Russian forces were located west of Okhtyrka. Amnesty described the rocket type as "unguided and notoriously inaccurate", and described the attack as a potential war crime that should be investigated.

On 4 March, Human Rights Watch reported that on 28 February Russian forces had fired cluster munitions into at least three residential areas in Kharkiv, killing at least three civilians. On 18 March, the number of civilians reportedly killed in Kharkiv exceeded 450 as consequence of the use of cluster munitions and explosive weapons in heavily populated areas of the city. Cluster munitions were repeatedly used also on Mykolaiv during separate attacks on 7, 11 and 13 March, causing civilian casualties and extensive destruction of non-military objects.

Targeting of humanitarian corridors

Photo distributed by the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs purportedly showing the victim of a Russian attack in Mariupol in March 2022

During the Siege of Mariupol, a number of attempts to establish a humanitarian evacuation corridor to evacuate civilians from the city have been made, but have failed due to the corridor being targeted by Russian forces. On 5 March, a five-hour ceasefire was declared, but evacuations were quickly halted after shelling continued during the declared time. The next day, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) announced that a second attempt to establish an evacuation corridor had failed. On 7 March, the ICRC announced that it had found that one of the routes listed for evacuations during a ceasefire had been mined.

On 7 March, during the Siege of Mariupol, the U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Michael Carpenter, described two incidents that occurred in Mariupol on 5 and 6 March as war crimes. He stated that on both dates, Russian forces bombed agreed-upon evacuation corridors while civilians were trying to use them.

Targeting of nuclear power plants

On 3 March 2022, Russian forces attacked the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe's largest. During the heavy fighting a fire broke out in a training facility outside of the main complex, which was quickly extinguished, though other sections surrounding the plant sustained damage. That evening, the Kyiv US Embassy described the Russian attack of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant as a war crime, though the US State Department quickly retracted this claim with the circumstances of the attack being studied and the Pentagon declining to describe the attack as a war crime. On the same day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of committing "nuclear terror" by ordering the attack on the plant. The Russian Ambassador to the UN claimed that Russian forces were fired upon by Ukraine forces from the training facility, that was subsequently confirmed via video analysis of the attack, which meant Ukriane forces potentially breached the Geneva Convention. According to international scholars, the Russian attack almost certainly breached international law but probably did not constitute a war crime.

Attacks on cultural properties

The use of explosive weapons with wide-area effects has raised concerns about the proximity of historic monuments, works of art, churches and other cultural properties. The Russian forces damaged or destroyed the Kuindzhi Art Museum in Mariupol, the Soviet-era Shchors cinema and a Gothic revival library in Chernihiv, the Babyn Yar Holocaust memorial complex in Kyiv, the Soviet-era Slovo building and the regional state administration building in Kharkiv, a 19th-century wooden church in Viazivka, Zhytomyr Region, and the Historical and Local History Museum in Ivankiv.

Cultural property enjoys special protection and international humanitarian law. Protocol I of the Geneva Convention and the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (both binding on Ukraine and Russia) prohibit states parties to use historic monuments in support of the military effort and to make them object of acts of hostility or reprisals. The Second Protocol to the Hague Convention allows attacks on cultural property only in case of "imperative military necessity" provided that there is no feasible alternative. Attacks against cultural heritage amount to war crimes and can be prosecuted before the International Criminal Court.

Attacks on hospitals and medical care facilities

Photo distributed by the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs purportedly showing a Ukrainian civilian killed during the Russian bombing of Chernihiv

On 30 March, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that there have been 82 verified Russian attacks on medical care in Ukraine — including attacks on healthcare facilities, patients, and healthcare workers — since 24 February — and WHO estimated at least 72 killed and 43 injured in these attacks.

Sexual violence

See also: Women in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine § War crimes and violence against women

In March 2022 the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine stressed the heightened risks of sexual violence and the risk of under-reporting by victims in the country.

In late March Ukraine's Prosecutor General opened an investigation into a case of a Russian soldier who had killed unarmed civilian and then repeatedly raped his wife. The incident is supposed to have taken place on 9 March, in a village outside of Kyiv. The victim related that two Russian soldiers raped her repeatedly after killing her husband, while her four year old son hid in the house's boiler room. The account was first published by The Times of London. A Moscow spokesperson dismissed the allegation as a lie. Ukrainian authorities have said that numerous reports of sexual assault and rape by Russian troops have emerged since the beginning of the invasion in February 2022. Ukrainian MP Maria Mezentseva said that these types of cases were underreported and that there are many other victims.

In another reported incident a Russian soldier entered a school in the village of Mala Rohan where civilians were sheltering and raped a young Ukrainian women. According to witness statements, the villagers informed Russian officers in charge of the occupation of the village of the incident, who arrested the perpetrators and told them that he would be summarily executed. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated that Russian soldiers had committed "numerous" rapes against Ukrainian women. According to the Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict database, sexual violence by Russian forces has been reported in three of seven years of conflict since 2014 in eastern Ukraine.

Concerned areas

Donetsk Oblast

See also: Siege of Mariupol

On 24 February, the Russian Armed Forces, working together with pro-Russian rebels, besieged the port city of Mariupol, leading to heavy casualties as supplies were cut from the locals.

Mariupol theatre airstrike

Main article: Mariupol theatre airstrike

On 16 March, Russian Armed Forces bombed the Donetsk Regional Drama Theatre in Mariupol, Ukraine, which was in use as an air raid shelter; Ukrainian authorities stated it was holding up to 1,200 civilians during the siege of Mariupol. The theatre was largely destroyed in the attack, which Ukrainian authorities described as a war crime. Casualty figures are currently not known; Ukrainian authorities stated that people were trapped under the burning rubble of the collapsed theatre following the attack, but ongoing shelling in the area has complicated recovery efforts.

The theatre is one of a number of Ukrainian heritage and cultural sites that have been deliberately targeted and destroyed by invading Russian forces. Satellite images of the theatre taken on 14 March show the word "children" spelled out in Russian in two locations outside the theatre in an attempt to identify it to invading forces as a civilian air raid shelter containing children and not a military target. Mariupol city council officials stated that the theatre was the largest single air raid shelter in the city, and at the time of the attack it contained only women and children.

In response to criticisms, Russia accused the Ukraine-backed Azov Battalion of carrying out the theatre bombing, without providing evidence.

Mariupol Hospital airstrike

Main article: Mariupol hospital airstrike

On 9 March, Russian forces bombed a maternity and children's hospital in Mariupol. The hospital was destroyed. Seventeen civilians, including children and pregnant women, were injured, and one pregnant woman died with her baby from injuries sustained in the attack. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the bombing of a maternity hospital a "genocide", the Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba called it a "petrifying war crime", and the British prime minister Boris Johnson described it as "depraved".

The picture of a pregnant woman lying on a stretcher, being carried through the bombed-out courtyard by first responders, circulated around the world over the internet and in newspapers. The unnamed woman was moved to another hospital and on 13 March died after her child was stillborn; she had suffered numerous injuries in the bombing, including a crushed pelvis and detached hip, which contributed to the stillbirth of her child. The doctors operated on them by candlelight.

Another pregnant woman photographed in the bombing, Marianna Vyshegirskaya, a popular blogger in Mariupol, gave birth to a daughter the following day. Vishegirskaya became the target of a disinformation campaign that started trending on Russian Telegram and was repeated in a tweet from the Russian embassy in the UK. The Russian embassy claimed that Vishegirskaya was an actress "wearing some good makeup" and that the aftermath of the attack had been staged. That conspiracy theory was proved false and Twitter took down the embassy's post, but the fake news had already spread across the pro-Russia social media and blogs.

Mass shelling of residential areas in Mariupol

On 2 March, deputy mayor Sergiy Orlov reported that Russian artillery targeted a densely populated neighborhood of Mariupol, shelling it for nearly 15 hours. He said that one populated residential district on the city's left bank had been "nearly totally destroyed".

The city was cut off from electricity, food, gas and water. A 6-year-old girl was reported to have died from dehydration under the ruins of her home in Mauripol on 8 March.

Satellite photos of Mariupol taken the morning of 9 March by Maxar Technologies, a contractor for the US military, showed "extensive damage" to high-rise apartments, residential homes, grocery stores and other civilian infrastructure. This was determined by comparing before and after photos. The Mariupol council made a statement that the damage to the city has been "enormous". It has estimated that approximately 80% to 90% of the city's infraestructure has been significantly damaged due to shelling, of which almost 30% were destroyed beyond repair. Reporting from Mariupol, Reuters reporter Pavel Klimov said that "all around are the blackened shells" of tower block dwellings.

On 16 March BBC News reported that nearly constant Russian attacks had turned residential neighbourhoods into "a wasteland." On the same day it reported that it had obtained drone footage showing "a vast extent of damage, with fire and smoke billowing out of apartment blocks and blackened streets in ruins." A city resident told the BBC that "in the left bank area, there's no residential building intact, it's all burned to the ground." The left bank contained a densely populated residential district. She also said that the city centre is "unrecognisable." On the same day the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported that Russian forces continued to commit war crimes in Mariupol including "targeting civilian infrastructure."

On 18 March, Sky News from the UK described an aerial and a ground video as both showing "Apocalyptic destruction in Mariupol." Sky News also reported that it had verified the locations of both videos to destroyed residential areas of Mariupol, also including some commercial properties. On 19 March 2022 a Ukrainian police officer in Mariupol made a video in which he said "Children, elderly people are dying. The city is destroyed and it is wiped off the face of the earth." The video was authenticated by the Associated Press.

As of 20 March local authorities have estimated that at least 2,300 people were killed during the siege.

On 20 March 2022 it was announced by Ukrainian authorities that Russian troops had bombed Art School No. 12 in Mariupol where the Ukrainian authorities claimed about 400 people were taking shelter during the battles and bombings on the city.

Missile attack and shelling on the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic

On 14 March, a OTR-21 Tochka missile hit the city of Donetsk, allegedly killing 23 local civilians. Russia and the DPR claimed that the missile was launched by the Armed Forces of Ukraine and accused Ukraine of committing war crimes; the Ukrainian government denied this accusation, claiming the missile was launched by the Russian Armed Forces as part of a false flag operation.

On 25 March, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine declared that they were looking into allegations of indiscriminate shelling by the Ukrainian armed forces in Donetsk and in other territory controlled by the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Chernihiv Oblast

Chernihiv bombing

Main article: 2022 Chernihiv bombing

On 3 March, Russian forces destroyed two schools and several apartment blocks in Chernihiv, killing 47 civilians. Most of them were standing in line at a food store waiting for bread, when a Russian air strike with eight unguided aerial bombs hit them. Amnesty International did not identify any military targets near the site of the attack. This action is regarded as a war crime by Amnesty International. Matilda Bogner, Head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, stated that the bombing violated the principles of distinction, of proportionality, the rule on feasible precautions and the prohibition of indiscriminate attacks.

Kyiv Oblast

See also: Kyiv offensive (2022)

Bucha shooting

On 4 March, Russian forces killed three unarmed Ukrainian civilians who had just delivered dog food to a dog shelter in Bucha, a city near Kyiv.

File:Ukrainian civilians and soldiers take shelter under a bridge in Kyiv.jpg

Ukrainian civilians and soldiers take shelter under a bridge in Kyiv, 5 March 2022

Irpin shelling

Main article: Irpin refugee column shelling

On 6 March 2022, from 9:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. local time, the Russian Armed Forces repeatedly shelled an intersection in Irpin that hundreds of civilians were using to escape to Kyiv, whilst Ukrainian forces fired mortar rounds at Russian forces from a military position about 180 meters from the intersection. It was part of an assault on Irpin. Eight civilians were killed, including a family of four that was killed by a mortar strike.

Bombing of Kyiv

See also: Battle of Kyiv (2022)

Residential building in Kyiv, Ukraine, after an attack. 26 February 2022.

Among the targets of Russian airstrikes was Ukraine's capital Kyiv, a city of some 3 million people. Kindergartens and orphanages were also shelled.

Fire in the shopping centre

During the evening of 20 March 2022, Russian Armed Forces bombed Retroville, a shopping centre in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. Ukrainian emergency services received reports of a fire at the shopping centre at 22:48. The centre was destroyed, as were nearby cars. Nearby buildings were badly damaged and at least eight people were killed. The Russian Ministry of Defence said it launched the strike because areas near the shopping centre were used to store and reload rockets by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Bombing of Sumy

In the evening and throughout the night on 7 March Russian forces executed an airstrike on Sumy's residential neighbourhood. About 22 people were killed, and 3 among them were children. Under the procedural guidance of the Sumy District Prosecutor's Office, criminal proceedings have been instituted for violating the laws and customs of war.

On 21 March 2022 during the Battle of Sumy, a Russian airstrike damaged one of the ammonia tanks at a Sumykhimprom fertilizer factory located in the suburbs of Sumy, contaminating land within a 2.5 km radius including the villages of Novoselytsya and Verkhnya Syrovatka. The Russian Ministry of Defence claimed that Ukrainian “nationalists” had “mined” ammonia and chlorine storage “with the aim of mass poisoning of residents.

Kharkiv Oblast

See also: February 2022 Kharkiv cluster bombing

During the Battle of Kharkiv, the city was destroyed by Russian shelling, including a boarding school for blind people. Out of a population of 1.8 million, only 500,000 people remained in Kharkiv by 7 March.

On 4 March 122 civilians, including five children, were killed in the Kharkiv region. On 8 March, Russian forces bombed a hospital in Izium, the hospital was totally destroyed. This shelling has been regarded as a war crime by region authorities.

Mykolaiv bombing

Main article: 13 March 2022 Mykolaiv cluster bombing

On 13 March 2022, the Russian Armed Forces perpetrated a cluster munition bombing of Mykolaiv. Nine civilians waiting in line on the street at a cash machine have been killed in the attack. Russian forces used Smerch and Uragan cluster munition on the densely populated areas.

Zhytomyr Attacks

Main article: 2022 Zhytomyr attacks

Malyn city, Zhytomyr Oblast, after 8 March Russian airstrike. Emergency servicemen carry a dead body found under rubble

On 27 February, it was reported that the Russian armed forces used 9K720 Iskander missile systems that were located in Belarus to attack the Zhytomyr International Airport.

On 1 March, late in the evening Russian troops hit a residential sector of the city. About 10 residential buildings on the Shukhevych street and the city hospital were damaged. A few bombs were dropped on the city. As a result, at least two Ukrainian civilians were killed and three were injured. On 2 March, shells hit the regional perinatal center and some private houses.

On 4 March, rockets hit the 25th Zhytomyr school destroying half of the school. In the evening the "Ozerne and Zhytomyr Armored Plant" came under fire; two people were injured. On 8 March, in an air assault, a dormitory was hit and the Isovat factory was damaged. On 9 March, the outskirts of the city (Ozerne district) came under fire.

Kremmina elderly home attack

Lyudmyla Denisova, Ukraine's human rights ombudswoman, alleged that on 11 March over 50 elderly persons in a care home had been intentionally fired upon by a tank in the town of Kremmina, calling the attack a "crime against humanity" by "racist occupation forces". Serhiy Haidai, governor of Luhansk region, made the same claim. 56 victims had reportedly died, while 15 survivors were taken to Svatove in "occupied territory". The allegations have not been independently verified so far.

Deportations

There have been unconfirmed reports that Russian forces have forcefully deported thousands of residents from Ukraine to Russia during the Siege of Mariupol. On 24 March, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed that the Russian army had forcibly deported about 6,000 Mariupol residents in order to use them as "hostages" and put more pressure on Ukraine. The US embassy in Kyiv cited the Ukrainian foreign ministry as claiming that 2,389 Ukrainian children had been illegally removed from the self-procaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk and taken to Russia.

On 24 March Ukraine’s ombudsperson and politician Lyudmyla Denisova said that over 402,000 Ukrainians had been forcefully taken to Russia, including around 84,000 children. Russian authorities said that more than 384,000 people, including over 80,000 children, had been evacuated to Russia from Ukraine and from the self-procaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, bringing the total number of people relocated to Russia to over 2,700,000.

Deportation of protected peoples such as civilians during war is prohibited by Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Detention of civilians and torture

Conflict-related detentions

On 22 March the non-profit organization Reporters Without Borders reported that a Ukrainian fixer and interpreter working for Radio France had been captured by Russian forces while on 5 March he was heading back to his hometown in a village in Central Ukraine. He was held captive for nine days, being subjected to electric shocks, beatings with an iron bar and a mock execution. On 25 March Reporters Without Borders alleged that Russian forces had threatened, kidnapped, detained and tortured several Ukrainian journalists in the occupied territories.. Torture is prohibited by both Article 32 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and Article 2 of the United Nations Convention against Torture.

The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine confirmed that in the first month of the invasion they had documented the arbitrary detention in Russian occupied territories of 21 journalists and civil society activists, nine of whom had already reportedly been released. The Human Rights Monitoring Mission also verified the arrests and detention of 24 public officials and civil servants of local authorities, including three mayors, by Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups of the self-proclaimed republics of Luhansk and Donetsk.

International humanitarian law allows the internment of civilians in armed conflict only when they individually pose a security threat, and all detained persons whose prisoners of war (PoW) status is in doubt must be treated as prisoners of war under the Geneva Convention until their status has been determined.

Torture and ill-treatment of civilians

According to Human Rights Monitoring Mission, there were also credible reports of mistreatment of "marauders, bootleggers, pro-Russian supporters, and curfew violators" in territory controlled by the Ukrainian government. Reports and video footage documented more than 45 cases of torture and ill-treatment by civilians, police officers and members of the territorial defence. In most cases, "perpetrators allegedly duct-taped individuals to electricity poles or trees, partially or fully stripped them, beat them, including with sticks and rods, and sprayed them with paint or marked their bodies with the word 'marauder' ... Some of this conduct may also amount to conflict related sexual violence."

Treatment of prisoners of war

Footage of captured Russian soldiers

Since 27 February, the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs has shared on social media grisly photos and videos of killed Russian soldiers, soon followed by dozens of videos of prisoners of war under interrogation, sometimes blindfolded or bound, revealing their names and personal information, and expressing regret over their involvement in the invasion. The videos have raised concerns about potential violations of Article 13 Third Geneva Convention, which states that prisoners of war should be protected "against insults and public curiosity." On 7 March, Amnesty International released a statement saying that "it is essential that all parties to the conflict fully respect the rights of prisoners of war," and saying that filmed prisoners of war and their families could be put at risk of reprisals following repatriation to Russia.

On 16 March, Human Rights Watch described the videos as intentional humiliation and shaming, and urged the Ukrainian authorities to stop posting them on social media and messaging apps. Analogous concerns were expressed by various Western newspapers A spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Elizabeth Throssell, said that the videos, if genuine, were likely to be incompatible with human dignity and current international humanitarian law. Interviewed by Der Spiegel, international law expert Daniel-Erasmus Khan said that "letting POWs call home is actually a good thing, filming it and putting it online however is not," as it was incompatible with the Geneva Convention on the treatment of prisoners of war. According to The Guardian, while it was likely that Ukraine was using the discomfort of captured soldiers for propaganda purposes, still the videos succeeded in showing the Russian servicemen's "authentic sense" of regret for having come to Ukraine.

Kneecapping of Russian soldiers

On 27 March a video purportedly showing Ukrainian soldiers shooting Russian prisoners in the knees was uploaded on Telegram. The video was likely shot in Malaya Rohan, to the south east of Kharkiv, in an area which had been recently had recently been recaptured by Ukrainian troops. The footage purports to depict a number of captured soldiers lying on the ground; many appear to be bleeding from leg wounds and are questioned by their captors. At one point, three prisoners are brought out of a vehicle and shot in the legs with a rifle. The accents and the uniforms of the captors are consistent with them being Ukrainians from the east of the country.

On 29 March the Head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine Matilda Bogner said she was "very concerned". She called on Russia and Ukraine to launch investigations on the alleged ill-treatment of prisoners of both sides, and reminded the two countries of their obligations to treat POWs humanely and ensure they "are not exposed to public curiosity and are treated with dignity." Human Rights Watch said that the video, if confirmed, showed serious violations of international humanitarian law, and urged the Ukrainian authorities to ensure an effective investigation into actions that could qualify as war crime. Oleksiy Arestovych, adviser to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said that the incident will be investigated. The chairman of the investigative committee of the Russian Federation, Alexander Bastrykin, also said that an investigation will be launched. The Ukrainian armed forces chief, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, released a statement saying that the Russians had made fake videos in order to discredit Ukraine's defense forces.

Legal proceedings

International Criminal Court

Main article: International Criminal Court investigation in Ukraine

On 25 April 2014, the International Criminal Court (ICC) started a preliminary examination of crimes against humanity that may have occurred in Ukraine in the 2014 Euromaidan protests and civil unrest, the 2014 annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, and the war in Donbas. On 11 December 2020, the ICC Prosecutor found that "there was a reasonable basis to believe that war crimes and crimes against humanity were committed", that the "alleged crimes identified would [as of December 2020] be admissible", and that there was "a reasonable basis for investigation, subject to judicial authorisation".

On 25 February 2022, ICC Prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan stated that the ICC could "exercise its jurisdiction and investigate any act of genocide, crime against humanity or war crime committed within Ukraine." Khan stated on 28 February that he would launch a full ICC investigation and that he had requested his team to "explore all evidence preservation opportunities". He stated that it would be faster to officially open the investigation if an ICC member state referred the case for investigation. Lithuanian prime minister Ingrida Simonyte stated on the same day that Lithuania had requested that the ICC investigation be opened.

On 2 March 39 states had already referred the situation in Ukraine to the ICC Prosecutor, who could then open an investigation into past and present allegations of war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide committed in Ukraine by any person from 21 November 2013 onwards. On 11 March two additional referrals were submitted to the ICC Prosecutor, and the Prosecutor declared that investigations would begin. The Prosecutor's office set up an online method for people with evidence to initiate contact with investigators.

Neither Ukraine nor Russia are parties to the Rome Statute, the legal basis of the ICC. The ICC has jurisdiction to investigate because Ukraine signed two declarations consenting to ICC jurisdiction over crimes committed in Ukraine from 21 November 2013 onwards. Articles 28(a) and 28(b) of the Rome Statute define the relation between command responsibility and superior responsibility of the chain of command structures of the armed forces involved.

List of countries that referred the situation in Ukraine to the ICC

The countries that referred the case of war crimes in Ukraine to the ICC includes the following:

1. Albania
2. Australia
3. Austria
4. Belgium
5. Bulgaria
6. Canada
7. Colombia
8. Costa Rica
9. Croatia
10. Cyprus
11. Czech Republic
12. Denmark
13. Estonia
14. Finland
15. France
16. Georgia
17. Germany
18. Greece
19. Hungary
20. Iceland
21. Ireland
22. Italy
23. Japan
24. Latvia
25. Liechtenstein
26. Lithuania
27. Luxembourg
28. Malta
29. North Macedonia
30. Norway
31. Netherlands
32. New Zealand
33. Poland
34. Portugal
35. Romania
36. Slovakia
37. Slovenia
38. Spain
39. Sweden
40. Switzerland
41. United Kingdom

International Court of Justice

Main article: Ukraine v. Russian Federation (2022)

On 27 February, Ukraine filed a petition with the International Court of Justice arguing that Russia violated the Genocide Convention using an unsubstantiated accusation of genocide in order to justify its aggression against Ukraine.

On 1 March, the ICJ officially called on Russia to "act in such a way" that would make it possible for a decision on provisional measures to become effective. Initial hearings in the case took place on 7 March 2022 at Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands—the seat of the court—to determine Ukraine's entitlement to provisional relief. The Russian delegation did not appear for these proceedings, but submitted a written statement.

On 16 March 2022, the court ruled 13-2 that Russia must "immediately suspend the military operations" it commenced on 24 February 2022 in Ukraine, with Vice-President Kirill Gevorgian of Russia and Judge Xue Hanqin of China dissenting. The court also unanimously called for "[b]oth Parties [to] refrain from any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute before the Court or make it more difficult to resolve.

International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine

Main article: International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine

On 4 March 2022, the United Nations Human Rights Council voted 32 in favour versus 2 against and 13 absentions to create the International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, an independent international committee of three human rights experts with a mandate to investigate violations of human rights and of international humanitarian law in the context of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine

Main article: UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine

The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU), whose monitoring of human rights violations by all parties in Ukraine started in 2014, continued its monitoring during the 2022 Russian invasion, retaining 60 monitors in Ukraine. On 30 March 2022, HRMMU had recorded 24 "credible allegations" of Russian use of cluster munitions and 77 incidents of damage to medical facilities during the invasion. Michelle Bachelet stated, "The massive destruction of civilian objects and the high number of civilian casualties strongly indicate that the fundamental principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution have not been sufficiently adhered to."

Other legal aspects

Gyunduz Mamedov, a former deputy Prosecutor General of Ukraine, stated on 25 February 2022 that he was gathering evidence of war crimes. The Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba stated on 25 February that Russia was committing war crimes, and that the ministry and the Prosecutor General of Ukraine were collecting evidence, including attacks on kindergartens and orphanages, which would be "immediately transfer[red]" to the ICC. On 26 February, Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal said that Russia was committing war crimes.

During a debate in the House of Commons on 24 February, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that "anyone who sends a Russian into battle to kill innocent Ukrainians" could face charges, comparing Putin to Slobodan Milošević. Johnson also expressed support for the formation of an international tribunal to try the perpetrators of war crimes committed during the war. Chris Bryant, a MP for the opposition Labour Party, said that Putin "must be brought to a court of law and end his days in prison".

On 15 March, the United States Senate unanimously declared Russian president Vladimir Putin to be a war criminal. The next day, U.S. President Joe Biden called Putin a war criminal, and a day later U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that in his personal opinion, he agreed that war crimes had been committed in Ukraine. He stated, "Intentionally targeting civilians is a war crime." On 23 March, Blinken announced that the United States formally declared that the Russian military had committed war crimes in Ukraine, stating, "based on information currently available, the US government assesses that members of Russia's forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine."

See also

• Legality of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
• Casualties of the Russo-Ukrainian War
• Russian war crimes
• War crimes in Donbas

External links

• Guide to investigating war crimes at Global Investigative Journalism Network by investigative journalist Manisha Ganguly
• Contact websites for those providing evidence
  • Contact pathway of the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court
  • Ukrainian government website for collecting evidence on war crimes committed by Russian forces
• Map of likely war crimes by Bellingcat
• Videos
  • Video of drone flyover of apartment buildings being bombed in Mariupol. News.com.au, The News Room, March 15 2022
  • Video of tanks firing repeatedly on apartment buildings in Mariupol, civilians in hospital, woman crying for dead children. AP News, 12 March 2022.
  • Video of aftermath, including injured pregnant woman being carried, after Russian airstrike on hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine. Sky News, March 9, 2022
    On 13 March it was reported that the injured pregnant woman in the video (and her baby) died as the results of their injuries.