Russia ‘committed crimes against humanity’ in Ukraine: UN probe

GENEVA: Russia has committed the crimes against humanity of enforced disappearances and torture in its war in Ukraine -- part of a systematic attack on civilians, a United Nations investigation has concluded.

The new report by the UN´s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, published online this week, is to be formally presented to the UN Human Rights Council next Tuesday.

“The commission has concluded that Russian authorities committed enforced disappearances and torture as crimes against humanity,” the report said. “Both were perpetrated as part of a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population and pursuant to a coordinated state policy,” it added.

The categorical nature of that statement is unusual for UN investigators. Large numbers of civilians were detained in areas that came under Russian control, said the report. Many of them were then transferred to detention facilities in occupied Ukraine or in Russia.

The Russian authorities “committed additional violations and crimes during these prolonged detentions”, it added. “Many victims have been missing for months and years, and some died in captivity.”