At 5 am of 24th February, 2022, Ukraine was cowardly attacked by the Russian Federation. On the 9th day of a full-scale war, Russia’s aggression is accompanied by attacks on civilian objects such as homes, schools and hospitals, and victims among the civilian population, including women, the elderly, persons with disabilities and children.
Up to 28th of February, during the first 4 days of full-scale war, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights recorded 406 civilian casualties in the conflict. Based on the results of the analysis of information from various sources, since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 28 children have died, and another 64 have been injured.
Despite the difficult situations in different regions of Ukraine, active armed fights and shelling in all central, eastern and southern regions of Ukraine, the situation in some settlements is on the edge of ecological/natural disaster.
Thus, civil society actors of Ukraine call on the International Committee of the Red Cross:
1) To contribute to the opening of humanitarian corridors from Sumy (directions of Sumy, Shostka, Romny, Konotop, Okhtyrka), Chernihiv (eastern and northern parts of Chernihiv region), Kharkiv (whole region, except the south-eastern part), Kyiv (Bucha, Irpin, Vyshgorod, Ivankiv, Vasylkiv, Borodyanka), Mykolaiv (directions of Bashtanka, Snihurivka, Bereznehuvate), Zaporizhzhya (directions of Tokmatsk, Berdyansk, Velykobilozerka), Kherson (directions of Chaplynka, Kalanchak, Henichesk and Novokakhovka), Luhansk and Donetsk regions (Volnovakha, Mariupol) and other cities and settlements to which there is currently no opportunity to deliver humanitarian aid and conduct secured evacuation of civilians.
2) To provide humanitarian assistance and protection to victims among the civilian population who are in settlements where hostilities are taking place, as well as to those who were forced to temporarily leave their places of residence.
3) call on the Russian Federation to stop war crimes on the territory of Ukraine, which include:
– Intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population as such or against individual civilians not taking direct part in hostilities;
– Intentionally directing attacks against civilian objects, that is, objects which are not military objectives;
– Intentionally directing attacks against personnel, installations, material, units or vehicles involved in a humanitarian assistance or peacekeeping mission in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, as long as they are entitled to the protection given to civilians or civilian objects under the international law of armed conflict;
– Intentionally launching an attack in the knowledge that such attack will cause incidental loss of life or injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects or widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment which would be clearly excessive in relation to the concrete and direct overall military advantage anticipated;
– Attacking or bombarding, by whatever means, towns, villages, dwellings or buildings which are undefended and which are not military objectives;
– Intentionally directing attacks against buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science or charitable purposes, historic monuments, hospitals and places where the sick and wounded are collected, provided they are not military objectives;
– Utilizing the presence of a civilian or other protected person to render certain points, areas or military forces immune from military operations;
– Intentionally directing attacks against buildings, material, medical units and transport, and personnel using the distinctive emblems of the Geneva Conventions in conformity with international law;
Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union
NGO “CrimeaSOS”
Center for Civil Liberties
Regional Center for Human Rights
NGO “Association of Relatives of Kremlin Political Prisoners”
Human Rights Center ZMINA
NGO “School of Mediapatriots”
NGO Crimean Human Rights Group
