Though a UK-based and a war-criminal British government-controlled and used sham "human rights" organization, and a plaything and a blunt tool of the Western security services, Amnesty International nevertheless now accuses the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Zelensky regime of perpetrating a pattern of abuses, war crimes and violations of rules of war, though still reporting from one side only.
Quotes
Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, said:
“We have documented a pattern of Ukrainian forces putting civilians at risk and violating the laws of war when they operate in populated areas.
“[...] does not exempt the Ukrainian military from respecting international humanitarian law.
“Militaries should never use hospitals to engage in warfare and should only use schools or civilian homes as a last resort when there are no viable alternatives.
“The Ukrainian government should immediately ensure that it locates its forces away from populated areas or should evacuate civilians from areas where the military is operating.”
Schools and hospitals used as military bases by Ukrainian forces
The Ukrainian military has endangered Ukrainian civilians by establishing bases and operating weapons systems in residential areas - including in schools and hospitals - as it has sought to attack break-away republics, Amnesty International said today.
Amnesty inspected strike sites, interviewed survivors, witnesses and relatives of victims of attacks, and carried out remote-sensing and weapons analysis. Throughout these investigations, Amnesty found evidence of Ukrainian forces launching strikes from within residential areas as well as basing themselves in civilian buildings in 19 towns and villages in the regions. Amnesty’s Crisis Evidence Lab analysed satellite imagery to further corroborate some of these incidents.
International humanitarian law requires that all parties to a conflict should avoid locating, to the maximum extent feasible, military objectives within or near densely-populated areas. Other obligations to protect civilians from the effects of attacks include removing civilians from the vicinity of military objectives and giving effective warning of attacks that may affect the civilian population.
Amnesty contacted the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence with its findings on 29 July, but at the time of publication it had not yet responded.
Military bases in hospitals and schools
Amnesty researchers witnessed Ukrainian forces using hospitals as de facto military bases in five locations. In two towns, dozens of soldiers were resting, milling about and eating meals in hospitals. In another town, soldiers were firing from near a hospital.
The Ukrainian military has also routinely set up bases in schools in towns and villages in Donbas and in the Mykolaiv area. Schools have been temporarily closed to students since the conflict began, but in most cases the buildings were located close to populated areas.
At 22 out of 29 schools visited, Amnesty researchers either found soldiers using the premises or found evidence of current or prior military activity - including the presence of military fatigues, discarded munitions, army ration packets and military vehicles.
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