Credible that Russia has committed war crimes – VG

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In light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the International Criminal Court in The Hague (ICC) has opened an investigation into Russia’s possible war crimes against humanity in Ukraine.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday that US authorities had seen “very credible reports” that Russia had committed several war crimes.

Blinken says in an interview with CNN that there is talk of targeted attacks on civilians.

– It constitutes a war crime, he says.

Cluster munitions

He also mentions the use of “certain weapons”. It is believed to be a reference to so-called cluster munitions.

Cluster munitions are bombs, grenades or warheads that open up into the air and hurl hundreds of smaller explosive devices over a large area. Many of the charges do not explode, and often remain for years. They pose not least a danger to children, who can pick them up to examine them, writes NTB.

According to Human Rights Watch, Russia has on several occasions used cluster munitions against residential areas in Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv. The use of weapons that hit randomly is prohibited under international war law and can be a war crime, the organization states.

Russia denies the allegations. President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied last week that Russia uses cluster munitions in Ukraine, and he also denied that civilian targets are being attacked, writes NTB.

“Russian forces are not carrying out any attacks on civilian infrastructure or residential areas,” he said.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs further says that work is now being done to collect documentation, put it in context and ensure that the right organizations and institutions are investigated whether acts of war have been committed.

– Right now we are looking at these reports. They are very credible and credible.

Death rates are rising

On Sunday, Ukrainian civilians were shot as they tried to evacuate from Irpin, a suburb of Kyiv. The number of deaths is unclear, but a family of three was killed, writes The Wall Street Journal.

Not far away, Ukrainian forces fought to repel a Russian attack on the critical gateway to the capital.

According to the UN, at least 331 civilians have been killed so far as a result of the invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian forces insist that they do not target civilians. President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied last week that Russia was using cluster munitions in Ukraine, and he also denied that civilian targets were being attacked.

“Russian forces are not carrying out any attacks on civilian infrastructure or residential areas,” he said.

But the number of deaths is increasing after Russian attacks in cities around the country, and agreements to evacuate other cities have fallen through.

New evacuation attempts were made on Sunday interrupted in the city of Mariupol. According to MSF, the humanitarian situation in the city, which has 400,000 inhabitants, is “catastrophic”.

Pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian National Guard blame each other for breaking the ceasefire.

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