Civilian Casualties Increase, Says UN

Civilian Casualties in Ukraine Sharply Increased, UN Reports

Civilian casualties and violations in Ukraine have significantly escalated in recent months, including a sharp rise in often deadly drone attacks, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said in a report published on Monday, June 30.

This is the UN’s polite diplomatic way of stating that the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has led to a sharp increase in the number of Ukrainian men, women and children killed as a result of Russian attacks. In recent months, Russians have resorted to targeting civilian apartment buildings, homes and shopping centers in hopes of demoralizing the population. In many instances, Russian commanders have kept their incompetent infantry away from street-to-street battles. Ukrainian soldiers have been successful in keeping the Russians at bay. Except, unfortunately, when small groups of Russian soldiers have separated from their main force and embarked on a killing spree of Ukrainian civilians.

The report covers the period from December 1, 2024, to May 31, 2025, during which 986 civilians were killed and 4,807 injured – a 37% increase compared to the same period the previous year.

“The war in Ukraine – now in its fourth year – is becoming increasingly deadly for civilians,” said Danielle Bell, head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU).

“We continue to document patterns of violence that are inconsistent with obligations under international humanitarian law.”

 

Concern over use of short-range drones

Most casualties occurred in areas under Ukrainian government control, primarily due to Russian attacks using long-range explosive weapons in populated areas and short-range drones near frontline locations.

Nearly half of all casualties were caused by missiles, loitering munitions and air-dropped bombs in densely populated areas, the report stated. At least three attacks involved the use of missiles with fragmentation warheads which detonated above ground and scattered fragments across large open areas, killing and injuring many civilians at once.

The use of short-range drones is driving the rise in civilian casualties, the report said. OHCHR verified that 207 civilians were killed and 1,365 injured in these attacks.

Among the deadliest incidents was a Russian drone strike on a civilian bus transporting employees of a mining company to work in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Eight women and two men were killed, and 57 people were injured.

“The high number of civilian casualties from the use of short-range drones, which allow operators to see their targets in real time, raises grave concerns,” Bell said “Our findings strongly suggest a failure to distinguish between civilian and military targets, and to take all feasible precautions to verify the military nature of those targets – or worse, an intentional decision not to.”

During the same period, Russian forces struck at least five hospitals directly. Some of the attacks used multiple loitering munitions, suggesting potential deliberate targeting of the hospitals in violation of international humanitarian law.

Prisoners of war

Serious violations against prisoners of war (POWs) also remain a major concern, according to the report. OHCHR documented credible allegations that at least 35 Ukrainian POWs were executed during the reporting period.

Staff interviewed 117 recently released Ukrainian POWs and two detained medical personnel, nearly all of whom described being tortured and ill-treated in captivity. This included severe beatings, electric shocks, sexual violence, dog attacks, and deliberate humiliation, often carried out by personnel wearing balaclavas to conceal their identities.

Bell said the continued brutalization of Ukrainian prisoners of war is not only inhumane, but a serious violation of international law. “These are not isolated incidents - they point to well-documented patterns of widespread and systematic torture that demand urgent and unambiguous accountability, and measures toward prevention,” she said.

Rights concerns in Russian-occupied areas

The report highlights ongoing human rights concerns with Ukrainian civilians unlawfully detained by Russian authorities, predominantly in occupied territory. People who have been released described torture, ill-treatment, and dire conditions of detention.

Ukrainians in occupied territory faced increased coercion to adopt Russian citizenship. OHCHR documented over 16,000 homes listed by Russian occupation authorities as potentially “abandoned” and therefore at risk of being confiscated.

Displaced residents faced severe legal and logistical obstacles, as well as security risks, to reclaim their property.

Ukrainian children recruited

Another issue covered in the report is the recruitment and use of Ukrainian children “for sabotage activities of increasing gravity against Ukrainian military objectives.”

The children reportedly were recruited by unidentified actors, likely affiliated with Russia, according to Ukrainian law enforcement authorities. Some of these youngsters were killed or injured, while others are facing prosecution after being enticed via social media to commit arson or plant explosives.

“Using children to commit acts of sabotage or violence exploits their vulnerability and endangers their lives,” Ms. Bell said. “It compounds their suffering by exposing them to violence, coercion, and harsh legal consequences.”

OHCHR also voiced concern over the situation of older people, mainly women, as well as persons with

Many are unable to evacuate due to poverty and limited housing options, while those who can often face long stays in shelters that lack appropriate facilities, or they are placed in institutional settings due to the absence of suitable alternatives.

 

 

 

Child abductions by Russians

Child Abduction: A Vile Crime that can’t Go Unpunished

We’ve been reading hair-raising accounts about the horrendous abductions of Ukrainian children — in many cases infants and toddlers — by marauding Russian cutthroats in uniforms since they invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Each story is worse than the preceding one.

One reason that has been offered is that the Russians want the population of Ukraine to be decreased with little chance of recouping the losses. Sort of a modern version of the Holodomor that killed 7-10 million Ukrainians in 1932-33.

What is most diabolical about his crime against humanity is that it has been sanctioned by Russia’s dictator Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, commissioner of children’s rights in Putin’s office. Both were convicted by the International Criminal Court, a UN agency, in March 2023.

The Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL), ran under the auspices of the Yale School of Public Health, estimates that Russian authorities may be holding as many as 35,000 children abducted from occupied Ukrainian territory.  It the actual number is unknown.

Experts believe some children have been illegally adopted by Russian families, transferred to “youth military camps,” or placed in boarding schools, forcing desperate Ukrainian parents to travel to Russia in search of their kids. The abducted children have also been forcibly taught to speak Russian and adopt a range of Russian habits while disavowing their native Ukrainian heritage.

An initiative Bring Kids Back has so far helped return 1,366 children, though researchers estimate that tens of thousands may still be illegally held in Russia or on occupied territories.

The HRL at Yale identified the abducted children through an analysis of databases, family ties, official documents, and satellite images. HRL director Nathaniel Raymond described the kidnappings as potentially one of the biggest crimes against children since World War II.

“This is likely the largest child abduction in war since WWII—comparable to the Germanification of Polish children by the Nazis,” he said. “Taking a child from one ethnic or national group and making them part of another ethnic or national group – that’s a war crime.”

In addition to other Russian war crimes against Ukraine, ripping a child away from its mother deserves the condemnation of all international organizations like the United Nations and all people of good will. There is no explanation or exoneration for stealing children. After Ukraine defeats Russia, it cannot be allowed to sneak away unpunished.

Putin Declares all of Ukraine is Russia; No Peace in Store; Is Declaration of War Next?

The latest astounding declaration by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin tops all others pronounced since 1999, when he can to power in the Evil Empire, coming in the wake of Ukraine’s brilliant clandestine attack against distant Russian airfields and internal calls for Putin to declare war on Ukraine.

It’s time that the free world and especially the current occupants of the White House, President Donald J. Trump and his team of Russophiles understand that there is no negotiating with Putin about Ukraine or any other former captive nation, there is no withdrawal of Russian murders from Ukraine, Putin and his army of cutthroats have not committed any war crimes, and Putin’s diabolical plans for Ukraine are rock solid, there will be no peace as long as the Kremlin exists.

Social media were abuzz Friday, June 20, when news appeared around Putin proclaiming his imperial doctrine at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum that Russia claims as its own the entire territory of Ukraine that was stepped upon by Russian soldiers’ feet, reported UNIAN.

This quote was immediately followed by a comparison with a similar citation from Nazi archives of World War Two: The German soldier will remain wherever his foot steps.

“There’s an old rule: wherever the foot of a Russian soldier steps, that is ours,” Putin said in response to a question about where the Russian army might stop in Ukraine. Then he repeated his oft repeated falsehood that Ukrainians and Russians are “one people” and stressing that, in that sense, “all of Ukraine is ours.”

President Trump, the Kremlin’s apologist, publicly stated many times that despite Russian drones and missiles exploding in Ukrainian residential neighborhoods, taking their toll of human lives, he believes contrary to all evidence that Putin wants peace. Recently, he repeated the same pro-Russian litany, saying he thinks Russia wants to end the war but might be “dragging their feet” on taking decisive action. 

Speaking at the annual economic forum, Putin insisted that Ukraine must become a non-aligned, non-nuclear, and neutral state, in other words, defenseless, exposed and aligned with Moscow. These statements substantiate the Kremlin’s refusal to seek a just peace but rather expose the true eternal goal of all Russian tsarist, soviet and putinist leaders: Ukraine’s complete subjugation.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a post on Telegram: “Yesterday, Putin put on a performance, particularly for the United States too, and he spoke completely openly. Yes, he wants all of Ukraine – and he had wanted it not just for four years, not just since 2014, but long before that, because he himself was shaped that way by Russian imperialism. And when he speaks about Ukraine and something else about Russian soldiers’ boots on the ground, he is also speaking about Belarus, the Baltic states, Moldova, the Caucasus, countries like Kazakhstan, and every place on Earth that Russian killers can reach. Putin’s power ends where Russian killers’ capabilities end.

“Of course, Ukraine will defend itself. Everyone in the world must choose where they stand. On our part, we in Ukraine have adopted a number of new decisions, taking into account the frankness of the Russian murderers who openly declare that they do not intend to stop.”

Putin’s admission to re-subjugate all of Ukraine comes in the wake of a weeklong nighttime Russian barrage of Ukrainian cities, considered by many one of the most savage since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

At least one person was killed in Ukraine Friday night as Russia continued its unrelenting attacks. A barrage of more than 20 Russian drones rained down on residential areas in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa and the northeastern city of Kharkiv overnight, according to officials. One civilian was killed and almost two dozen were injured, including two girls — 12 and 17-years-old — and three emergency workers.

The strikes sparked fires that caused the partial collapse of a four-story apartment building and tore through the upper floors of a 23-story high-rise, leading to the evacuation of about 600 residents.

The death toll kept rising last week across Ukraine. Civilians were killed in Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kherson and Sumy regions, local authorities said. Russia launched 58 drones at Ukraine overnight on Wednesday, June 18, 30 of which were shot down, the Ukrainian Air Force said.

The fresh strikes came as Ukraine marked a day of mourning on Wednesday after what Volodymyr Zelensky described as one of the worst attacks on Kyiv since the war began. At least 23 people were killed across Ukraine overnight on Tuesday, including 21 in Kyiv.

Russia continues to pose a direct threat to the European Union through acts of sabotage and cyberattacks, but its massive military spending suggests that Putin also plans to use his armed forces elsewhere in the future, the EU’s top diplomat warned on Wednesday.

The free world cannot forget about Ukraine or abandon it. Kaja Kallas, a European official of Estonian descent, said Europe must do “more for Ukraine, for our own security too.” Speaking during a debate in the European Parliament last Wednesday June 18, she continued: “To quote my friend Nato secretary general Mark Rutte: if we don’t help Ukraine further, we should all start learning Russian.” The obvious implication is that Russia will continue to fulfill its manifest destiny of subjugating all of Europe.

“Russia is already a direct threat to the European Union,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said. She listed a series of Russian airspace violations, provocative military exercises, and attacks on energy grids, pipelines and undersea cables.

Kallas noted that Russia is already spending more on defense than the EU’s 27 nations combined, and this year will invest more “on defense than its own health care, education and social policy combined.”

Putin is said to be facing renewed calls to “declare war” on Ukraine following Kyiv’s audacious “Spider Web” drone attacks on four air bases deep inside Russia. Ukraine estimates more than 40 Russian bombers were damaged in the attacks by Ukraine’s SBU security service after drones were smuggled into the country and launched from trucks. Inside the Kremlin, there was “shock and outrage,” according to a high-ranking official. Among Russia’s hardline nationalist elite, there is reportedly a growing feeling that the Putin has not gone far enough in Ukraine and should formally declare war. There are calls for Russia to recruit a million more men and take out the Ukrainian government with daily strikes on Kyiv, reports The Telegraph, which spoke to Kremlin insiders, on the condition of anonymity, over whether the Ukrainian attacks could prompt further escalation by Russia.

You may be wondering why President Trump took such a bold, albeit necessary step against Iran, which is also supplying airborne ordinance for Russia to use against Ukraine, and he won’t help Ukraine bomb Russia to end its devastating war against Ukraine. Sadly, Moscow is Trump’s patron and advocate, Putin is his buddy.

Next They’ll be Cheering ‘For He’s a Jolly Good Fella” on Hitler’s Birthday

President Trump’s team Inside the Beltway is confused about which side United States of America is supposed to support. Or perhaps the officials never considered favoring Ukraine and President Zelenskyy on any occasion over Evil Empire called Russia and its dictator Vladimir Putin.

It defies America’s 250-year commitment to democracy and human rights. It defies the principles set down by Thomas Jefferson, Bejamin Franklin, John Adams, George Washington and the other Founding Fathers.

Recognizing a country like Russia that is led by Putin, a perpetrator of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, is a mockery of American values! The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for  Putin, and his comrade-in-crimes Maria Lvova-Belova, Russian commissioner for children’s rights, for the war crime of unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children during the Russo-Ukraine War. The warrant against Putin is the first against the leader of a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.

The United States oddly began recognizing Russia Day on June 12, 1992. This date commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) on June 12, 1990, a misnomer if there ever was one. The RSFSR later became the Russian Federation, which substantiates the explanation of some that a country called “Russia” doesn’t exist in any directory. You can’t point to borders of Russia like you can to Ukraine and the United States.

According to one flawed explanation, Russia Day commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the RSFSR in 1990 – sovereignty from what, itself? – and the subsequent first free and fair elections in 1991 – yes, at the point of a bayonet. Official sources falsely claim that these events marked significant steps towards the establishment of the modern Russian Federation and the principles of independence, freedom, and the rule of law—as the handful of dissidents. The U.S. uses the bogus holiday to reaffirm its desire for peace and mutually beneficial relations with Russia. 

Regardless of the hypocrisy imbued in these words, today, Secretary of State Marco Rubio displayed macabre fawning over the Russian people on this occasion.

“On behalf of the American people, I want to congratulate the Russian people on Russia Day.

“The United States remains committed to supporting the Russian people as they continue to build on their aspirations for a brighter future. We also take this opportunity to reaffirm the United States’ desire for constructive engagement with the Russian Federation to bring about a durable peace between Russia and Ukraine. It is our hope that peace will foster more mutually beneficial relations between our countries,” Rubio said.

First of all, there is no evidence that the so-called Russian people, which are not a singular people but rather a mishmash of Euro-Asian tribes, seek a democratic Russia, which has also never existed, or oppose Russia’s war against Ukraine and the murder of innocent, unarmed Ukrainian men, women and children. They even don’t care that one million of their citizens in uniforms have been killed in their war. If they’re to convince the free world that they are different, they must renounce and denounce Putin/Russia.

Furthermore, a rabid anti-Ukrainian mentality lives in the souls and hearts of all Russians which keeps them from pushing to end the war that they again resumed.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha‎ castigated countries that extended good wishes to Moscow, as Rubio congratulated the Russian people on Russia Day.

No senior U.S. official before Rubio had congratulated Russia on its national day since the Kremlin began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. No other allied Western leaders have done so this year either.

Sybiha said at a meeting in Rome that it was “particularly unpleasant” for him to read “the public congratulations from certain countries to the Russian aggressor,” though he did not specifically name the countries in question.

By the way, for the diplocrats in Foggy Bottom, get your voices in tune for a hearty rendition of “For he’s a jolly good fella” on Hitler’s birthday April 20, and the establishment of the Nazi Party on February 20.

 

Trump’s Alignment with Russia is Killing Ukrainians, Prolonging War

With Ukraine valiantly defending itself against Russia’s barbaric onslaught, America’s chief executive dangerously refuses to give Ukrainian leaders, soldiers and people any credit and encouragement for surviving more than three years in the latest phase of Moscow’s war.

His flippant comments, anti-Ukrainian rhetoric, blatant vulgarity, offensive behavior and Russian preference are enough to wound the hearts and souls of every Ukrainian and Ukrainian advocate.

The acrimonious donnybrook in the Oval Office on February 28, with President Trump, chastising President Zelenskyy for defending his country, was not a one-off ambush of the Ukrainian chief executive. Since then, President Trump has on numerous occasions belittled Ukrainian battlefield achievements while solidarizing with the Russian aggressor. 

As is he has repeatedly done, when Ukraine successfully strikes back at Russia, Trump finds a way to denounce Zelenskyy for undermining peace efforts by provoking the Russians. In other words, Trump doesn’t want Ukrainian soldiers to return fire but rather to roll over and die.

The case in point was last week’s Spiderweb surprise drone attack that struck Russia’s bomber fleet. Asked by a reporter on Air Force One if the June 1 attack, which disabled or destroyed as many as 40 Russian planes, had changed his view about how many “cards” Zelensky has to play, Trump criticized Ukraine for poking the bear. “They gave Putin a reason to bomb the hell out of them,” Trump said. “That’s what I didn’t like — I saw it and thought, ‘Here we go, now there’ll be a strike.’”

Trump also claimed that Ukraine provoked the war in 2022 by fighting back against the invader.

The comment follows Trump’s assessment comparing the war in Ukraine to a schoolyard fistfight, in which, in his view, it’s best not to intervene. “It's a pretty known analogy. You have two kids, they fight, fight, fight,” Trump said during his meeting last week with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. “You try and pull them apart; they don't want to be pulled. Sometimes you’re better off letting them fight for a while.”

Trump demonstrated again that he either doesn’t know anything about Ukraine or he doesn’t care. 

In an interview with ABC, Zelenskyy resented the analogy. “We are not playing in the park with the Russians like two boys, two kids. Putin is not a kid,” Zelenskyy told ABC’s Martha Raddatz. “So, we can’t compare, and we cannot say, OK, let them fight for a while.” Zelensky said if anyone has shown no interest in ending the war, it’s Putin, who he described as a “maniac.”

“I feel strongly Putin does not want to end the war without total defeat of Ukraine,” Zelenskyy told Raddatz. “With all due respect to President Trump,” Zelensky said, “I think it’s just his personal opinion. Trust me, we understand the Russians much better, the mentality of the Russians, than the Americans understand the Russians. I know for sure Putin doesn't want to stop the war.”

Trump claimed on May 27 that Russia would already be facing serious consequences if not for his actions, following one of the most intense Russian aerial assaults on Ukraine. “What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realize is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean really bad. He's playing with fire,” he wrote on Truth Social.

Wait a second, braggadocio or not, you mean the American President is protecting Russia from being bombed by Ukrainian drones and warplanes? And then the President had an hour-long conversation with Putin in which Trump learned about the Russian dictator’s plans, which he chose not to reveal. That’s certainly not the American way; that’s certainly siding with the enemy of humanity.

Zelenskyy and five other European leaders during their recent meeting in Albania joined a conference call with President Trump immediately after his call with Vladimir Putin hoping to hear that Putin had agreed to a ceasefire — or the US would impose penalties on him for refusing to do so.

Instead, Trump said Putin had agreed to negotiate, stressed the US wouldn't be involved in those negotiations, and pushed back against the idea of imposing sanctions on Putin at the current time, two sources who were on the call and a third source briefed on the call told Axios.

Why it matters: Trump gave the impression he was getting closer to withdrawing from the issue altogether. Some leaders on the call seemed “surprised” or “shocked,” the sources said.

“I think something's going to happen. And if it doesn’t, I just back away and they’re going to have to keep going. Again, this was a European situation, and should have remained a European situation,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office several hours after his calls.

So, Trump wants to refrain from so-called European situations. History has shown that others have tried this but failed, only giving rise to greater European dictators.

As for sanctions, Trump floated the idea of imposing sanctions on Ukraine.

Trump’s envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, is another White House official who can’t say anything favorable about Kyiv. Kellogg even sympathizes with Moscow’s opposition to Ukraine’s accession to NATO. He said Russia’s concern over the eastward enlargement of NATO was fair and the United States did not want to see Ukraine in the U.S.-led military alliance.

Asked by U.S. network ABC News about a Reuters report that Russia wanted a written pledge over NATO not enlarging eastwards to include Ukraine and other former Soviet republics, Kellogg said: “It’s a fair concern.”

David Petraeus, retired United States Army general and CIA director, observed what no one in the White House will have the courage to declare: that Russia’s aim was to topple president Volodymyr Zelensky in order to “install a puppet leader and to control all of Ukraine.”

He added: “Once that's done, you are going to see them focus on one of the Baltic states. Lithuania has featured prominently in his speeches and we should have listened a lot more.”

President Volodymyr Zelensky, responding to the May 25 overnight bombardment, called for urgent new sanctions and warned that “America's silence, and the silence of others around the world, only encourages Putin.”

The European Union and US lawmakers have also called for tougher action. It seems as if the White House is the lone American institution out in the cold.

Mission that Destroyed 41 Russian Bombers was in the Planning for 18 Months

News media around the world are abuzz with reports of Ukraine’s daring and historic attack on June 1 against Russia’s five military airfields that destroyed 41 of its long-range bombers.

The operation, dubbed “Spiderweb,” was in the planning stages for 18 months and personally overseen by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and carried out by head of the Security Service of Ukraine Vasyl Malyuk, according to Ukrainian sources such as Pravda.

Ukrainian news media stated that the operation was extremely complex from a logistical point of view.

“The SBU first transported FPV drones to Russia, and later mobile wooden houses. Later, on the territory of the Russian Federation, the drones were hidden under the roofs of houses, already placed on trucks. At the right moment, the roofs of the houses were opened remotely, the drones flew to hit the Russian bombers,” the story said.

“The people who participated in this historic special operation have been in Ukraine for a long time. So, if the Putin regime demonstratively detains someone, it will be another staged performance for the domestic audience.”

The Ukrainian drone attack that destroyed more than 40 Russian military planes was carried out deep in Russia’s territory, while Russia pounded Ukraine with missiles and drones a day before the two sides meet for a new round of direct talks in Istanbul.

The drones reportedly hit 41 planes stationed at several airfields on Sunday, afternoon, June 1, including A-50, Tu-95 and Tu-22M aircraft, the official said. Moscow has previously used Tupolev Tu-95 and Tu-22 long-range bombers to launch missiles at Ukraine, while A-50s are used to coordinate targets and detect air defenses and guided missiles.

Russia’s Defense Ministry in a statement confirmed the attacks, which spanned five airfields. The FPV drones damaged aircraft and sparked fires on air bases in the Irkutsk region, more than 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles) from Ukraine, as well as Russia’s northern Murmansk, it said. Strikes were repelled in the Amur region in Russia’s Far East and in the western regions of Ivanovo and Ryazan, the ministry said.

Nonetheless, Ukrainian officials expressed hope that negotiations on ending the three-year war can resume. The attack came the same day as Zelenskyy said Ukraine will send a delegation to Istanbul for a new round of direct peace talks with Russia on Monday. In a statement on Telegram, Zelenskyy said that Defense Minister Rustem Umerov will lead the Ukrainian delegation. “We are doing everything to protect our independence, our state and our people,” Zelenskyy said.

Meanwhile, Russia on Sunday launched the biggest number of drones — 472 — on Ukraine since the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Air Force of Ukraine said.

What is historically monumental about this attack is that Ukraine, which is honeycombed with Ukrainian traitors and Russian collaborators and provocateurs, shielded this secret from Moscow.

UN: Russia Aerial Attacks against Ukraine are Crimes Against Humanity

Russia has committed crimes against humanity by deliberately targeting civilians with drones in Ukraine’s Kherson Oblast, according to a new report by the United Nation’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine.

The commission concluded that the drone attacks, which began in July 2024, were widespread, systematic, and part of a coordinated state policy to terrorize the population and forcibly depopulate the area. The findings were based on more than 300 videos, over 600 Telegram posts, and 91 interviews with victims, witnesses, and local officials.

“The individual drone attacks amount to the war crimes of intentionally directing attacks against civilians. The recurrence of these attacks for over 10 months, against multiple civilian targets and in a wide geographic area, demonstrates that they are widespread and systematic and have been planned and organized, requiring the mobilization and allocation of necessary resources. These and other elements led the Commission to conclude that Russian armed forces carried out drone attacks targeting civilians pursuant to an organizational policy and committed murder as a crime against humanity,” the commission said in the report published on May 28.

“The Commission further found that Russian armed forces and those supporting them have committed acts or threats of violence for the primary purpose to spread terror among the civilian population in the targeted areas of Kherson Province, in violation of international humanitarian law. The nature and broad range of the attacks, their specific civilian targets, their frequency, intensity, geographic spread, the circumstances in which they occur, have led to pervasive fear within the population.”

Nearly 150 civilians have been killed and hundreds more wounded in drone strikes on Kherson city and 16 surrounding localities. Victims include men, women, and children, with many struck while going about their daily routines. Ambulances, which are protected under international law, have also been targeted, resulting in additional casualties.

European leaders have concurred that “the massive air strikes, particularly on the city of Kyiv over the weekend, do not speak the language of peace, but rather the language of a war of aggression,” calling it, “a slap in the face of all those who are trying to bring about a ceasefire in Ukraine itself, but also in Europe and the USA.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of stalling peace talks and said Moscow did not want to halt its three-year invasion, adding that “they will constantly look for reasons not to end the war.”