UN commission: Videos of Ukrainians’ killings on Russian Telegram amount to war crimes

The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine stated this in its latest update to the Human Rights Council.

"Russian armed forces have targeted civilians and a wide array of civilian objects using short-range drones in localities stretching over 300 kilometres along the right bank of the Dnipro River. In May this year, the Commission concluded that such drone attacks in Kherson region were widespread and systematic and amounted to crimes against humanity of murder. The evidence now shows that similar drone attacks also target civilians and civilian objects in Dnipropetrovsk and Mykolaiv regions," the report said.

The report notes that the circumstances of attacks in settlements along the right bank of the Dnipro indicate the perpetrators’ intent to kill, maim and destroy. 

To carry out the attacks, the Russian forces use drones equipped with real-time surveillance and targeting systems. These drones often pursued their victims over long distances and dropped explosives on them, causing deaths and injuries. 

In addition, the Commission reported documenting strikes on ambulances and other emergency services, which prevented them from reaching their destinations.

"These attacks have a devastating impact on the civilian population living in the affected areas. They have caused extensive damage and destruction, leaving entire localities unliveable. Essential services and shops have been unable to operate. The terror instilled in the population and the ensuing coercive environment have compelled thousands to flee," the report said.

In the Commission’s view, the conduct of the Russian armed forces may amount to the crime against humanity of forcible transfer of population. The Commission will return to this issue in its report to the General Assembly in October.

"The investigations into short-range drone attacks as well as deportations and transfers reveal coordinated and organized efforts on the part of Russian authorities to further capture territory, and to consolidate their grip over areas they already control in Ukraine, while compelling local populations to leave," the commission  concludes.