A United Nations report is confirming that terrible war crimes have been committed in Ukraine by Russian soldiers. 

The commission chairman, Erik Mose, told the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva that "Based on the evidence gathered by the commission, it has concluded that war crimes have been committed in Ukraine.”

Mose is a Norwegian judge. He was the former president of the international criminal tribunal. And became well known for prosecuting those responsible for Rwanda’s genocide. 

The commission found that some of the Russian soldiers had committed “sexual and gender-based violence.” There is documented evidence of rape, murder, and torture, even of children. 

Mose spoke to interviewers claiming that witnesses provided the group with consistent accounts of crimes.

“The commission has documented cases in which children have been raped, tortured, and unlawfully confined,” Mose, told the council. And that evidence of victims as young as 4, and as old as 82, has been found.

There have been reports of alleged war crimes since the start of the invasion. According to Mose,  the commission reached all its conclusions “based on evidence on the ground.”

The commission is in the process of determining if the cumulative violations will amount to crimes against humanity.

United Nations Report of widespread war crimes

In May Resolution S-34/1 established the United Nations-appointed panel of independent legal experts. They are working as an Independent International Commission of Inquiry. And they issued the first report of their work on Friday. 

The team visited 27 towns and settlements. They interviewed more than 150 witnesses and victims. And they are currently still investigating credible reports of deaths of citizens in 16 towns.

It has been 7-months since Russia invaded Ukraine. The inquiry continues, but most of the evidence of crimes against civilians, so far, is focused on late February and March 2022 in Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, and Sumy regions.

The chairman’s 11-minute oral update alleges that “Children have also been killed and injured in indiscriminate attacks with explosive weapons. The exposure to repeated explosions, crimes, forced displacement, and separation from family members deeply affected their well-being and mental health.”

“There are examples of cases where relatives were forced to witness the crimes,” Mose told the council. The crimes were often committed by individual soldiers. And especially sexual violence is not part of a war strategy.

According to the United Nations report, there is a long list of crimes widely reported by Ukrainian and international investigators. The panel is probing executions of civilians in Bucha. And is now looking into the mass burial site found near Izyum after it was taken back by Ukrainian troops this month.

Torture in Russian detention facilities

“We were struck by a large number of executions in the areas that we visited.” Some of the murders have a lot in common including “prior detention, hands tied behind backs, gunshot wounds to the head and slit throats.”

There is evidence that some victims had been taken to Russia and detained for weeks in prisons. The victims claim they were subjected to beatings, electric shocks, and forced nudity.

Mose assured the commission of inquiry that his work is not complete. And his team plans to widen the scope of its investigation. It is alleged that widespread abuses are happening in camps set up by Russian authorities. 

There are allegations that the Russians are forcibly transferring Ukrainians to Russia. And that the adoption of Ukrainian children by families in Russia is being expedited.

The panel has also confirmed two cases where Ukrainian soldiers mistreated Russian soldiers. “While few in numbers, such cases continue to be the subject of our attention,” Mose reported.

Russia silent on the report

Russia did not have a representative present in the council to listen to the commission’s statement. And so far, not responded to these specific charges.

Ukraine’s ambassador-at-large, Anton Korynevych, is calling for the creation of a special tribunal to investigate and prosecute senior Russian leaders for the crimes and abuses.