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).

Killed civilians in Bucha, April 2022

During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian authorities were accused of carrying out wartime actions, including war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity, in violation of international law. The Russian military attracted charges of indiscriminate attacks in densely populated areas exposing the civilian population to unnecessary and disproportionate harm. The Russian forces used cluster munitions – a type of weapon that is prohibited by most states because of its immediate and long-term danger to civilians – and fired other explosive weapons with wide-area effects including air-dropped bombs, missiles, heavy artillery shells and multiple launch rockets. The result of the Russian forces' attacks was damage or destruction of civilian buildings including houses, hospitals, schools and kindergartens as well as nuclear power plants and cultural properties such as historic buildings and churches. As of March 25, the attacks had resulted in the death of at least 1,035 civilians and the wounding of at least 1,650.

There were allegations of forced deportations of thousands of civilians from Russian-occupied Mariupol to Russia, sexual assaults and deliberate killing of Ukrainian civilians by members of the Russian forces. At the end of March, Ukrainian forces recaptured the town of Bucha, located north of Kyiv. Afterwards, evidence emerged of possible war crimes committed by Russian troops, including torture and beheadings, and deliberate killings of civilians. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine documented in the first month of the invasion the arbitrary detention in Russian-occupied territories of 21 journalists and civil society activists, and 24 public officials and civil servants. The Monitoring Mission has also expressed concern about reports and videos of ill-treatment, torture, and public humiliation of civilians and prisoners of war in territory controlled by the Government of Ukraine, allegedly committed by police officers and members of the territorial defense.

On 2 March, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) opened a full 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, set up an online method for people with evidence to initiate contact with investigators, and sent a team of investigators, lawyers and other professionals to Ukraine to begin collecting evidence. Neither Ukraine nor Russia are parties to the Rome Statute, the legal basis of the ICC, but Ukraine has accepted the ICC's jurisdiction by signing in 2013 and 2014 two declarations to that effect. Two other independent international agencies are also investigating violations of human rights and of international humanitarian law in the area: the International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, established by the United Nations Human Rights Council on 4 March 2022, and the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, deployed by OHCHR. The latter started monitoring human rights violations by all parties in 2014 and employs nearly 60 UN human rights monitors. In late March, Prosecutor General of Ukraine Iryna Venediktova stated that the Ukrainian prosecutors had collected evidence for 2500 "possible war crimes cases" and "several hundred suspects." On 7 April, the United Nations suspended Russia from the UN Human Rights Council.

Indiscriminate attacks and attacks against civilian targets

Shelling of Kharkiv regional administration

Shelled residential buildings in Kharkiv Oblast

According to human rights organisations and to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, the invasion of Ukraine was carried out through indiscriminate attacks and strikes on civilian objects such as houses, hospitals, schools and kindergartens.

On 25 February, Amnesty International 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 26 February, Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal said that Russia was committing 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

Reports on the use of cluster munitions have raised concerns about the heavy toll of immediate civilian casualties and the long-lasting danger of unexploded ordnance. Neither the Russian Federation nor Ukraine ratified the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, but the use of cluster munition in populated areas may already be deemed incompatible with principles of international humanitarian law prohibiting indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks.

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. 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.

Disrupting humanitarian corridors

Body in the street in Mariupol

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.

Targeting of nuclear power plants

At 11:28pm local time on the 3 March 2022, a column of 10 Russian armored vehicles and two tanks cautiously approached the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe's largest. The action commenced at 12:48am on the 4 March when Ukraine forces fired anti tank missiles and Russian forces responded with a variety of weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades. During approximately two hours of heavy fighting a fire broke out in a training facility outside of the main complex, which was extinguished by 6:20am, 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 and Ukraine regulatory authorities claimed that Russian forces fired artillery shells at the plant, setting fire to the training facility. The Russian Ambassador to the UN responded that Russian forces were fired upon by Ukrainian "saboteurs" from the training facility, which they set fire to when they left. Later that day the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that the plants' safety systems had not been effected and there had been no release of radioactive materials, however he was "...gravely concerned about the situation at Ukraine's largest nuclear power plant. The main priority was to ensure the safety and security of the plant, its power supply and the people who operate it".

Attacks on nuclear power facilities are mainly governed by Article 56 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions, which generally prohibits attacks against civilian nuclear power plants. According to international scholars:

• the Russian assault possibly breached Article 56 but probably did not constitute a war crime;
• Ukrainian forces initiating the action by firing anti tank missiles may have breached the Passive Precautions section of Article 56, paragraph 5.

Attacks on cultural properties

Main article: Ukrainian cultural heritage during the 2022 Russian invasion

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. On 1 April, UNESCO stated that at least 53 Ukrainian historical sites, religious buildings, and museums are confirmed to have sustained damage during the Russian invasion.

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

See also: Medical neutrality § Ukraine (2022)

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

As of 26 March, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine verified 74 attacks on medical facilities, 61 of which in Government-controlled territory (e.g. air strikes on hospitals in Izium, Mariupol, Ovruch, Volnovakha and Vuhledar), nine occurring in territory controlled by Russian affiliated armed groups, and four in contested settlements. Until that date, six perinatal centres, maternity hospitals, and ten children hospitals had been hit, resulting in the complete destruction of two children's hospital and one perinatal hospital.

On 24 February, a cluster munition exploded at the Central City Hospital in Vuhledar, killing at least four civilians and injuring 10, and damaging ambulances and the hospital. On 8 March the newly refurbished central hospital in Izyum, south of Kharkiv, was destroyed, followed on 11 March by an attack to a psychiatric hospital of the same city. On 9 March a Russian air strike destroyed Mariupol hospital No. 3, which was clearly identifiable as civilian object, resulting in injuries for 17 civilians, one of whom was a woman at a late stage of pregnancy; neither she nor her unborn child survived.

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. WHO estimated at least 72 killed and 43 injured in these attacks.

Areas hit by indiscriminate attacks

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. Several sources in Mariupol reported that the hospital was clearly identifiable and operational at the time it was hit. The hospital was destroyed, and seventeen civilians, including children and pregnant women, were injured. 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 Mariupol 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 infrastructure 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 in Donetsk

On 14 March, a OTR-21 Tochka missile hit the city of Donetsk, which a Russian investigation said had killed 23 local civilians. Russia and the DPR said 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.

Missile strike on Kramatorsk railway station

Main article: Kramatorsk railway bombing

On April 8 at least 50 civilians were killed by a Tochka missile while waiting to be evacuated from the city of Kramatorsk. Ukrainian officials accused Russia of carrying out the attack, initially claiming that an Iskander missile was used; the accusations were dismissed by the Russian Ministry of Defense, which indicated that Tochka missiles are only used by Ukrainian forces. According to Ukrainian sources at least 300 were wounded in the strike and at least 50 killed, including at least 5 children. Thousands of people were waiting at the station to be evacuated to safer regions of Ukraine when the attack occurred. One of the missiles had "For the Children" written upon it in Russian. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated that the Russians knew that the train station was full of civilians when they attacked it.

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)

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

Ukrainian civilians and soldiers take shelter under a bridge in Irpin, 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. Human Rights Watch accused the Russian army of carrying out an indiscriminate and disproportionate attack. It was part of an assault on Irpin. Eight civilians were killed, including two children 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.

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

Sumy Oblast

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, including three 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, extensive parts of residential areas were 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, which was totally destroyed. This shelling has been regarded as a war crime by region authorities.

Mykolaiv Oblast

Mykolaiv bombing

Main article: 13 March 2022 Mykolaiv cluster bombing

On 13 March 2022, the Russian Armed Forces carried out 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 Oblast

Main article: 2022 Zhytomyr attacks

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

On 1 March, late in the evening Russian troops hit a residential sector of the city. About 10 residential buildings on Shukhevych street and around 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.

Luhansk Oblast

Kreminna care 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 Kreminna, calling the attack a "crime against humanity" by "racist occupation forces". Serhiy Haidai, governor of Luhansk region, made the same claim. Reportedly, 56 victims died while 15 survivors were taken to Svatove in "occupied territory". The allegations have not been independently verified so far.

Ill-treatment, torture and willful killing of civilians

Other than prima facie evidence and witness statements testifying to war crimes, evidence includes Ukrainian government intercepts of Russian military conversations and Russian government contingency planning for mass graves of civilians.

Bucha massacre

Main article: Bucha massacre

File:Bucha civilians massacred by Russian soldiers, c. April 2022 - 02.jpg

Photo distributed by the Ukrainian government showing bodies in the Bucha area in April 2022

After Russian forces withdrew from Bucha north of Kyiv, at end of March, videos emerged showing at least nine apparently dead bodies lying in the street in the residential area of the town. Journalists who visited the area reported seeing at least twenty corpses in civilian clothing. On 1 April, an AFP reported that at least twenty bodies of civilians lay in the streets of Bucha, with at least one the bodies having tied hands. The mayor of the city, Anatolu Fedoruk, said that these individuals had all been shot in the back of the head. Fedoruk also said that around 270 or 280 individuals from the city had to be buried in mass graves. The Kyiv Independent reported that already on March 12 local residents buried 57 bodies in a mass grave.

A news article published by The Kyiv Independent also included a photo and information on one man and two or three naked women under a blanket whose bodies were allegedly burned by Russian soldiers on the side of a road before fleeing.

As reported by The Times, in one instance the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces said they had found 18 mutilated bodies of murdered men, women and children in a basement in Zabuchchya, a village in the Bucha district. One of the interviewed Ukrainian soldiers stated there was evidence of torture: some had their ears cut-off, others had teeth pulled out. In Vorzel west of Bucha, Russian soldiers killed a woman and her 14-year-old child after throwing smoke grenades into the basement in which they were hiding.

On 4 April, Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine stated Kyiv region police found a "torture chamber" in a basement of a children's sanatorium in Bucha. The basement contained the bodies of five men with hands tied behind their backs. The announcement was accompanied by several photos posted on Facebook.

On 5 April, Associated Press journalists saw charred bodies on a residential street near a playground in Bucha, including one with a bullet hole in the skull, and a burned body of a child. The journalists were unable to verify their identity or the circumstances that led to their death.

On 6 April, Ukrainian investigators said they found a mined body and three other corpses, one of whom was beheaded, at a glass factory in town.

The Kyiv Independent reported that 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. In another incident, Russian soldiers in an armored vehicle opened fire on civilians fleeing in cars, killing a man, woman and two children. According to residents of Bucha, upon entering the town, Russian tanks and military vehicles drove down the streets shooting randomly at house windows.

While Ukrainian officials called the situation "genocide", "a massacre" and "war crimes", Russia's Defense Ministry claimed simultaneously that the footage was staged and fake and at the same time accused the Ukrainian troops of killing the civilians. Numerous other countries demanded investigations and accountability, with the prime-minister of United Kingdom stating the footage in Bucha was "yet more evidence that Putin and his army are committing war crimes". Several nations such as Britain, Germany, France and Spain, have called for the prosecution and punishment of Russia troops for reported atrocities in the invasion. On 4 April, Joe Biden indicated that the issue of atrocities outside of Kyiv in Bucha clearly would call Putin to answer for war crimes. Boris Johnson also spoke to say that Britain would use its resources to bring Putin to justice for atrocities being uncovered in Bucha.

Amnesty International stated that the killings near Bucha constituted "extrajudicial executions and other unlawful killings, which must be investigated as likely war crimes". Agnès Callamard, the Secretary General of Amnesty International, added that "Testimonies shows that unarmed civilians in Ukraine are being killed in their homes and streets in acts of unspeakable cruelty and shocking brutality".

Killing of civilians in Chernihiv region

Human Rights Watch cited reports that in Staryi Bykiv Russian forces rounded up at least six men and executed them at the beginning of the invasion.

Killing in Trostyanets

After the town of Trostyanets in Sumy Oblast was liberated from Russian control, the local doctor at the morgue reported that at least one person in town was killed by Russians after being tortured, and young people were abducted. The town's hospital was also shelled; the New York Times indicated that it's unclear who hit the building, but the locals accused the Russians.

Reporters from The Guardian visited the town after it was liberated from Russian troops and found evidence of executions, looting and torture carried out by Russian troops. According to the mayor of the town the Russians killed between 50 and 100 civilians while they occupied the town. One local witness stated that Russian soldiers also fired at women delivering food to the elderly while shouting "Run bitches!".

E40 highway shooting

On 7 March, a Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces drone operating near the E40 highway outside Kyiv filmed Russian troops shooting a civilian who had his hands up. After Ukrainian forces recaptured the area four weeks later, a BBC news crew investigating the area found the man and his wife's bodies close to their car, all of which had been burned. More dead bodies lined the highway, some of which also showed signs of burning. During the incident, a couple in that car was killed, and their son and an elder were released. The burning of bodies may have been signs that the Russian troops tried to destroy evidence of what they had done. At least ten dead were found along the road, two of them wearing recognisable Ukrainian military uniforms. The drone footage was submitted to Ukrainian authorities and London's Metropolitan Police.

Use of children as human shields

According to witness accounts gathered by the Ukraine's attorney general, Russian units leaving the area near Kyiv used children as human shields by forcing them to sit on top of their tanks as these withdrew. In the village of Novyi Bykiv Russians allegedly placed Ukrainian children in front of their tanks to protect themselves. In other areas of Ukraine, there were claims that Russian forces took local children hostage and threatened their parents in case they gave away the troops' coordinates. According to the Ukrainian human rights ombudsman, cases of Russian soldiers using Ukrainian children as human shields have been recorded in Sumy, Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.

Abduction and torture of civilians in Kherson

Dementiy Bilyi, head of the Kherson regional department of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine, claimed that the Russian security forces were "beating, torturing, and kidnapping" civilians in the Kherson Oblast of Ukraine. He added that eyewitnesses had described "dozens" of arbitrary searches and detentions, resulting in an unknown amount of abducted persons. At least 400 residents had gone missing by March 16, with the mayor and deputy mayor of the town of Skadovsk being allegedly abducted by armed men. An allegedly leaked letter described Russian plans to unleash a "great terror" to suppress protests occurring in Kherson, stating that people would "have to be taken from their homes in the middle of the night"

Mistreatment of marauders and pro-Russian supporters

According to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU), there were credible reports of mistreatment of people perceived to support Russian forces in territory controlled by the Ukrainian government. Reports and video footage documented at least 45 cases of abuse and torture by both civilians and members of the territorial defense. The majorities of these cases involved "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." On 25 March, HRMMU documented at least two reported cases where civilians were killed inside Ukrainian government-controlled territory for supporting Russia.

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. After Russian withdrawal from areas north of Kyiv, according to The Guardian, there was a "mounting body of evidence" of rape, torture and summary killings by Russian forces inflicted upon Ukrainian civilians, including gang-rapes committed at gunpoint and rapes committed in front of children.

In late March Ukraine's Prosecutor General opened an investigation into a case of a Russian soldier who had killed an 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 Malaya Rohan where civilians were sheltering and raped a young Ukrainian woman. Human Rights Watch reported that the woman was threatened and repeatedly raped by a Russian soldier who cut her cheek, neck and hair. According to witness statements, the villagers informed Russian officers in charge of the occupation of the village of the incident, who arrested the perpetrator 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.

Human Rights Watch received reports of other incidents of rape in Chernihiv region and Mariupol. ABC News reported in April 2022 that "rapes, shootings and a senseless execution" had been alleged to have occured in the town of Berestyanka, noting a specific incident where a man was claimed to have been shot by Russian soldiers on 9 March after attempting to block them from raping his wife and a female friend.

Deportations

According to Ukrainian officials and two witnesses, Russian forces have forcefully deported hundreds 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-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk and taken to Russia.

On 24 March Lyudmyla Denisova, Ukraine's human rights ombudsperson 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-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk.

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

Arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance of civilians

On 22 March the non-profit organization Reporters Without Borders reported 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.

Treatment of prisoners of war

Russian prisoners of war

Humilation of captured Russian soldiers

Since 27 February, the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs has shared on social media 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 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 case is taken "very serious" and that it will be immediately investigated, since it would be "absolutely unacceptable behavior". 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.

Execution of captured Russian soldiers

On 6 April a video showing Ukrainian troops of the Georgian Legion executing captured Russian soldiers was posted on Telegram. The video was verified by the New York Times. A wounded Russian soldier was shot twice by a Ukrainian soldier while lying on the ground. Three deceased russian soldiers, including one with a head wound, were seen near the soldier. The video was filmed on a road north of the village of Dmytrivka, 7 miles south of Bucha. The incident occurred on 2 April according to the date that it was posted. In it one soldier can be heard saying "Glory to Ukraine" and another "Glory to the Heroes".

Ukrainian prisoners of war

The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine expressed worries about the treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war held by forces of Russia and the Donetsk and Luhansk Republics. Videos showing Ukrainian war prisoners being forced to sing pro-Russian songs or carrying bruises have attracted concerns about their treatment.

On 4 April 2022, Ukrainian ombudsman Lyudmyla Denisova said that Ukrainian prisoners of war had launched complaints about their mistreatment by Russian authorities, accusing their captors of inhumane living conditions, asserting that they had been repeatedly intimidated and threatened by their captors. Denisova stated that the prisoners "were periodically taken out one at a time: they [Russian authorities] beat them to make examples of them, fired near their ears and intimidated them." Dmytro Lubinets, head of the Ukrainian parliament's human rights committee, claimed that Russians forcibly shaved heads of female Ukrainian prisoners.

Looting

Looting is a war crime under Rule 52 of the Geneva Convention. Survivors of Bucha and the Bucha massacre raised accusations that Russian soldiers looted the town taking jewelry, electronics, kitchen appliances, clothing and vehicles of evacuees, deceased and those still in the city. Wall Street Journal journalist Yaroslav Trofimov reported hearing testimonies of Russian soldiers looting food and valuables during his visit to southern Ukraine. The Guardian journalists visiting Trostianets after month-long Russian occupation found evidence of "systematic looting".

Videos have been posted on Telegram, reportedly showing Russian soldiers sending stolen Ukrainian goods home through courier service in Belarus. Items visible in videos include air conditioning units, alcohol, car batteries, and bags of Ukrainian Epicentr K stores. News aggregator Ukraine Alert posted video showing stolen goods found in an abandoned Russian armored personnel carrier, and an image reportedly showing damaged Russian military truck carrying three washing machines. Intercepted telephone calls have also made mention of looting, a call by a Russian soldier and released by the Security Service of Ukraine included the soldier telling his girlfriend; "I stole some cosmetics for you" to which the girlfriend responded "What Russian person doesn't steal anything?"

Claims of intent

Genocidal intent

See also: Disinformation in the 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis § Removing neo-Nazis from power

On 8 April 2022, historian Timothy D. Snyder described a 3 April "handbook" published by Timofey Sergeytsev on RIA Novosti, What Russia should do with Ukraine, as "an explicit program for the complete elimination of the Ukrainian nation as such". According to Snyder, Sergeytsev presents the Russian definition of "Nazi" as being "a Ukrainian who refuses to admit being a Russian", and any "affinity for Ukrainian culture or for the European Union" is seen as "Nazism". Thus, per Snyder, the document defines Russians as not being Nazis, and justifies using the methods of fascism against Ukrainians while calling the methods "denazification". Snyder describes the document as "one of the most openly genocidal documents [that he had] ever seen", stating that the document calls for the majority of Ukrainians, twenty million people, to be killed or sent to labour camps. Snyder argues that Sergeytsev's document, published two days after information about the Bucha massacre became widely known, makes the establishment of genocidal intent much easier to prove legally than in other cases of mass killing. The Guardian also described Russian media, including RIA Novosti, as encouraging genocide on the basis that Ukrainian resistance to the invasion was evidence of their Nazism.

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, and a team of investigators, lawyers and other professionals was sent to Ukraine to begin collecting evidence.

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.

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.

Ukrainian chief federal prosecutors investigation

Ukraine's chief prosecutor has announced that he is building 2,500 war crimes cases against Vladimir Putin's invasion. 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.

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."

EU Joint Investigation Team

In the aftermath of the Bucha massacre, the EU established a Joint Investigation Team with Ukraine to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity. Within the framework of the Join Investigation Team, a pool of investigators and legal experts by Eurojust and Europol is made available for providing assistance to the Ukrainian Prosecution Services. On 6 April 2022, United States Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that the U.S. Department of Justice was assisting Eurojust and Europol prosecutors with their investigation, and that the Justice and State Departments were also making efforts to support the Ukrainian prosecutor.

International legal task force

Main article: Task Force on Accountability for Crimes Committed in Ukraine

In late March 2022, the Task Force on Accountability for Crimes Committed in Ukraine, a pro bono international group of lawyers, was created to help Ukrainian prosecutors coordinate legal cases for war crimes and other crimes related to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Universal jurisdiction

Main article: Universal jurisdiction investigations of war crimes in Ukraine

Several states, including Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, and Ukraine, announced in March and April 2022 that they would conduct investigations of war crimes in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine under the universal jurisdiction principle of international humanitarian law.

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. Several journalists and photojornalists are independently documenting war crimes perpetrated in the invasion.

International reactions

During a debate in the House of Commons on 24 February 2022, 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 2022, 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." A week later the US State Department issued a formal assessment that Russia has committed war crimes.

On 3 April 2022, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian described abuses by Russian forces in Ukrainian towns, particularly Bucha as possible war crimes. On 7 April, French President Emmanuel Macron described the alleged killings in the Ukrainian town of Bucha were "very probably war crimes."

The United Nations General Assembly voted on 7 April 2022 to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council over "gross and systematic violations and abuses of human rights". The measure needed members to vote in favor by two-thirds of the countries present and voting not counting abstentions. The measure passed with a result of 93 in favor, 24 against and 58 abstentions. After the suspension, Russia's deputy U.N. Ambassador Gennady Kuzmin announced that Russia had decided to quit the Human Rights Council altogether.

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
    • Ukrainian government description and list of war crimes in English
• 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
  • CBS News video about pattern of rape by Russian soldiers against Ukrainian women during the invasion.