Russia uses methods of warfare prohibited by IHL,- human rights activists say

The Army of the Russian Federation knowingly violates the laws and customs of war. In fact, war crimes have become an integral part of the Russian military’s tactics.  This was announced by the head of the Center for Civil Liberties (CCL) Olexandra Matviychuk during the online event “Russia’s War in Ukraine: Nuclear Weapons, Negotiations and Neutrality“, organized by the American Institute for Foreign Policy Studies. 

During her speech, the head of the Center for Civil Liberties summed up the main issues of the situation in Ukraine after the start of a new phase of the Russian war against Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Ukrainian human rights activists join forces in the global initiative “Tribunal for Putin” to fight impunity and bring to justice Russian war criminals.

“Russia is simply killing unarmed civilians. Ukraine needs long-range air defense systems, such as NASAMS, military aircraft, heavy weapons to protect our people and land: artillery systems, tanks and armored vehicles. We need a lot of strike drones and more anti-tank weapons, anti-ship missiles” said Olexandra Matviychuk.

For Russia, war crimes have become a method of waging war. “Russia is carrying out targeted attacks on civilian facilities: schools, hospitals, housing and critical civilian infrastructure; uses human shields, attacks heavily guarded facilities such as nuclear power plants. Such actions are not justified by any military necessity” Olexandra Matviychuk stressed.

Russia has deliberately isolated,  sieged and blocked cities, leading to unjustified civilian suffering. “A striking example is Mariupol, Chernihiv, Izyum. Russian troops are terrorizing the population of these cities, refusing to allow humanitarian aid into the cities, and shelling people trying to evacuate. People in cities destroyed by Russian troops, such as Mariupol, have been sitting in bomb shelters for weeks without food, water, electricity or medical care” added the head of the Center for Civil Liberties.

Russia has launched political persecution in the occupied territories. “We receive dozens of appeals from public activists and their relatives who have suffered from threats, physical violence, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions and other forms of persecution in Melitopol, Kherson, Berdyansk, Kakhovka, Slavutych and other towns and villages,” she said.

She also outlined the areas in which Ukraine needs urgent help to stop another act of aggression and mass terror by Russia. “First of all, we need weapons, and we need them urgently. Mass atrocities against civilians in Bucha and other cities in the Kyiv region have clearly demonstrated that Russia is simply killing unarmed civilians. Ukraine needs long-range air defense systems, such as NASAMS, military aircraft,  heavy weapons to protect our people and land: artillery systems, tanks and armored vehicles. We need a lot of strike drones and more anti-tank weapons, anti-ship missiles” said Olexandra Matviychuk.

Summing up her speech, the head of the CCL also noted that in addition to weapons, cooperation and coordination of the international community to increase the effectiveness of sanctions against Russia is critical for Ukraine. We need the disconnection of all Russian banks from SWIFT, an embargo on Russian energy supplies. It is important to start work on the establishment of a special tribunal on Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, and the implementation of international organizations’ mandates in Ukraine, ensuring the international presence and monitoring in combat zones, and occupied cities, during the evacuation of civilians etc.