Ukrainian forces have put civilians at risk in 19 towns and villages, a new Amnesty report states. – If the Ukrainians have made mistakes, it is definitely not an excuse for the Russians’ behaviour, emphasizes Lieutenant General Robert Mood. He has previously been president of the Red Cross and head of the UN observer force in Syria. Nevertheless, it is the truth that is first lost in a war, he says. According to the report, hospitals have been used as military bases. Closed schools are used by soldiers for military activity. Ukrainian soldiers have taken up positions in neighborhoods miles away from the front line. From here, the Ukrainians attacked the Russians with their weapons systems, according to the report. Something that the Ukrainian authorities reject. “Such tactics violate international law and put civilians at risk because they go from being civilians to becoming military targets,” writes Amnesty. – Being in a defensive position does not exempt the Ukrainian military from respecting international law, says Amnesty’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard. Ukraine must respect international law even if they are in a defensive position, says Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard. The picture was taken on another occasion. Photo: RONEN ZVULUN / Reuters Documented pattern Amnesty’s investigations took place in Ukraine from April to July. In addition to its own inspections and witness interviews, the organization has used satellite images and weapons analyzes to confirm findings. – We have documented a pattern in which Ukrainian forces expose civilians to risk and break the laws of war when they operate in populated areas, says Secretary General Callamard. According to the organization, there were alternative places where the Ukrainians could avoid endangering civilians in that way. The soldiers could use military bases, dense forest or buildings outside inhabited areas, it says. The soldiers should also have evacuated the people, but this was not done, according to Amnesty. The incidents are said to have taken place in the regions of Kharkiv, Donbas and Mykolajiv. This image of a heavily pregnant woman went around the world when Russia attacked a women’s hospital in Mariupol on March 9 this year. Photo: Evgeniy Maloletka / AP Forbidden areas in war Schools, churches and hospitals are forbidden areas in war, says Lieutenant General Robert Mood. – If the report is correct, it is an unacceptable violation of the rules of war, says Mood. He recalls that the international law of war was created after the Second World War precisely to protect civilians. Both the attacker, the defender and peacekeepers have independent responsibility for protecting civilians in war zones. Both parties must take care of the wounded and prisoners of war. Robert Mood is a former lieutenant general in the Swedish Armed Forces and has led several international UN missions. The use of schools, churches and hospitals is prohibited in war, he says. Photo: Stian Lysberg Solum / NTB – It is not the case that if schools and hospitals are emptied, then it is free for use. Civil infrastructure must be kept away, says Robert Mood. – Otherwise, you give the attacker a reason to attack that type of infrastructure elsewhere. – All reports indicate that the Russians have uncritically attacked civilian infrastructure to carry out terrorist bombings. Therefore, it is quite obvious that the Russians have contempt for the rules of war, says Mood. – Blaming the victim Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has reacted strongly to the report. He does not respond to the specific findings, but says that the attacker’s actions at the same time should be taken into account. The president believes that the report makes it seem as if Ukraine is to blame for Russia’s invasion. – Today we saw a completely different report from Amnesty International, which unfortunately tries to grant amnesty to the terrorist state and blame the victim instead of the attacker, Zelenskyj says. – There is no, not even hypothetical, situation in which the Russian attack can be justified. Volodymyr Zelenskyj visited the Ukrainian port city of Odesa a short time ago. The president does not agree with Amnesty’s report. Photo: STR / AFP Head of Amnesty in Ukraine, Oksana Pokalchuk, writes on her Facebook page that she has tried to stop the report. The local employees of Amnesty in Ukraine were not allowed to contribute to the work. The report is unreasonable and flawed, wrote Pokalchuk, who added that she and her staff did everything they could “to minimize the dissemination of the material.” But Amnesty International also emphasizes in its report that the tactics of Ukrainian forces “in no way justify Russia’s indiscriminate attack”. “Any attempt to question Ukraine’s right to resist genocide, to protect its families and homes, is perverse,” said Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov. – Clear violation of international law According to Amnesty, Ukrainian soldiers have used hospitals as military bases in five places. In two cities, tens of soldiers have rested and eaten in hospitals. Elsewhere, Ukrainian soldiers fired weapons near a hospital. – I don’t understand why our military attacks from the cities and not from the fields, Mykola, a resident of Lysytjansk in Donbas, told Amnesty International. “Using hospitals for military purposes is a clear violation of international law,” the report states. – If the soldiers of democratic countries also disregard the rules of war, we lose the moral upper hand in the fight for freedom, says Rober Mood. – All reports indicate that the Russians have uncritically attacked civilian infrastructure to carry out terrorist bombings, says Robert Mood. Here, a Ukrainian woman walks in the city of Mykolaiv after Russian attacks on 2 August. Photo: Kostiantyn Liberov / AP Lieutenant General Mood, on the other hand, does not believe that the report will have serious consequences for Ukraine. – All war historians and analysts know that mistakes are made on both sides. The Americans bombed bridal escorts in Afghanistan. It does not mean that they did it deliberately, but that they made a mistake, he says. It is also possible that Ukrainian forces have taken hospitals and neighborhoods to defend the civilian lives inside the building. Another alternative is that the forces deliberately use civilians as shields to use it as propaganda against the attacker, he says. Ukrainian forces with the so-called MSLR BM-21 weapon system. The truck has many launch pads. The photo was taken in the Kharkiv region on August 2. Photo: Evgeniy Maloletka / AP But training soldiers in the rules of war, and ensuring that they are observed, is the state’s responsibility, emphasizes Mood. Both the Norwegian Armed Forces, the UN and the Red Cross are concerned about this. – When we were training young soldiers in the Armed Forces, we were crystal clear that densely built-up areas and churches are prohibited areas, also during training, he says. Agrees with the Amnesty report Steven Haines, professor of international law at the University of Greenwich, has written guidelines for the use of schools and universities in military conflict. The guidelines are unofficial but have been promoted by a number of countries, including Ukraine. Haines tells The Guardian that he agrees with Amnesty’s assessment, and that Ukrainian forces have a responsibility to avoid civilian casualties and place themselves in buildings that can be considered legitimate military targets. Yesterday, Ukrainian women protested in Kyiv against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Photo: Efrem Lukatsky / AP
ttn-69
– If the report is correct, it is an unacceptable violation of the rules of war – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
