While satellite images show the presence of “mass graves” near Mariupol, evidence of possible abuses is mounting across the country, the UN has warned.
Satellite images show “the existence of mass graves in northwest Manhouch,” near the besieged city of Mariupol, Le Monde reported on Friday.
These photos, taken by the American company Maxar, shine show long rows of narrow graves of a cemetery in the village of Manhouch. Maxar, quoted by the Associated Press, said the graves were dug in late March and expanded in recent weeks. In a message published on Telegram, Vadym Boïtchenko, the mayor of Mariupol, accuses the Russians of “hiding their military crimes”. In Manhouch, “the squatters would have buried between 3,000 and 9,000 residents,” he says.
Evidence of possible war crimes against Russia is mounting, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said at the same time.
“Russian forces bombed and shelled populated areas indiscriminately, killing civilians and destroying hospitals, schools and other civilian infrastructure, actions that can be considered war crimes,” said Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
“In the past eight weeks, international humanitarian law has not only been ignored, it has simply been thrown overboard,” she said.
No confirmation at this stage of genocide
“What we saw in Kramatorsk, in the government-controlled area, on April 8, when cluster munitions hit the train station, killing 60 civilians and injuring 111 others, is emblematic of the failure to observe the principle of differentiation (between civilians and soldiers) that Prohibition of indiscriminate attacks and the precautionary principle enshrined in international humanitarian law,” stressed Michelle Bachelet.
Regarding the Ukrainian army, the UN has information about detainees arbitrarily and the inability to communicate with loved ones, raising questions about “forced disappearanceRespect for the law and the risk of torture and ill-treatment”.
Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the High Commissioner for Human Rights, does not rule out violations of international humanitarian law on the Ukrainian side, but “the vast majority of these violations can be attributed by far to Russian armed forces,” she emphasizes.
92.3% of the casualties recorded by Michelle Bachelet’s services “are attributable to Russian forces, as are allegations of murder and summary executions”.
“horror” to come
According to OHCHR, between February 24, when the war began, and April 20, its monitors in Ukraine recorded a total of 5,264 civilian casualties – 2,345 dead and 2,919 injured.
“We know that the real numbers will be much higher when the horrors inflicted in areas of intense fighting like Mariupol are revealed,” warned Michelle Bachelet.
The UN documented this in particular during a mission Butcha on April 9th the murder, also by summary execution, at least 50 civilians. And that was “not an isolated case,” confirmed Michelle Bachelet.
The United Nations said it received more than 300 reports of killings of civilians in the Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Sumy regions in late February and early March, all of which were under the control of Russian forces. UN monitors are also investigating allegations of sexual violence by Russian forces.
When asked about the allegations of genocide – specifically by US President Joe Biden – OHCHR spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani replied that the agency had not found any information to support them at the time.
“A lot of these legal qualifications — crimes against humanity and genocide — need to be decided by a court, but no, we haven’t documented any patterns that might resemble that,” she said, while France still refuses to use that heavy word.