Ukraine war: UN-backed human rights inquiry accuses Russia of ‘systematic and widespread’ war crimes

A UN-backed inquiry has reported that Russian attacks in Ukraine amount to war crimes, and possibly crimes against humanity.

In an unusual move against a member of the UN Security Council, the inquiry released its findings in a human rights report, which cited repeated attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure. The report also cited Russia’s “systematic and widespread” use of torture across Ukraine when making their conclusions.

Erik Mose, a former Norwegian Supreme Court and European Court of Human Rights judge, who led the investigation, said: “There were elements of planning and availability of resources which indicate that the Russian authorities may have committed torture as crimes against humanity.” Moscow has not responded to the published report yet.

It comes after high-profile allegations of mass graves being found in multiple regions. These included in the city of Bucha in western Ukraine, and Izyum in south-eastern Ukraine.

The Izyum graves were found by Ukrainian forces after they liberated the town from Russian occupation in September 2022. Around 440 bodies of serviceman and civilians, including children, were found buried in a woods near to the city.

The inquiry also found that crimes were committed against Ukrainians on Russian territory. This included deported Ukrainian children who were prevented from being reunited with their families.

Ukrainians were also detained through a “filtration” system. Those eventually detained were subjected to torture and inhumane conditions.

The inquiry was set up in 2022 after the UN held a debate on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The three members of the inquiry group were independent human rights experts but the inquiry was supported by and received funding from the UN human rights office.

Also noted in the report were a “small number” of alleged violations by Ukrainian forces, although the majority of the report was focused on the allegations against Russian troops. The report detailed that one of these alleged incidents is currently under criminal investigation in Ukraine.

Some experts hope that the publishing of the report will add pressure into organisations such as the International Criminal Court to charge Russia with war crimes and crimes against humanity. Mose added that the document would be “submitted to the relevant authorities in this issue”, however noted the difficulty in launching a full investigation against a permanent member of the Security Council.