New Amnesty International Report Claims Evidence Of Russian War Crimes

A Thursday report from human rights group Amnesty International says that Russian forces committed war crimes in Ukraine.

Amnesty International conducted research by interviewing over 20 people from communities around the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.

“Testimonies show that unarmed civilians in Ukraine are being killed in their homes and streets in acts of unspeakable cruelty and shocking brutality,” Agnès Callamard, secretary-general of Amnesty International, noted in the report.“The intentional killing of civilians is a human rights violation and a war crime. These deaths must be thoroughly investigated, and those responsible must be prosecuted, including up the chain of command.”

Some of the testimonies included families having to watch as Russian troops killed their loved ones in front of them. Others spoke of family members leaving cellars to get food and never coming back only to see them laying on the street, their bodies riddled with bullet holes. Still another testimony reported that Russian soldiers killed a woman’s husband and then raped her with her son crying in the next room.

Reports of war crimes committed by Russian troops have been consistent since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in late February. In cities like Mariupol, numerous civilian buildings have been decimated. One building was a theater being used for shelter with the word “children” written on the ground in big letters outside to be seen from the sky. Another building was a children’s hospital. On Saturday, photos were released from Bucha, a town outside of Kyiv that showed the atrocities of war. People dressed in civilian clothes could be seen scattered through the streets.

The United States and Ukraine have already called Russia out on war crimes, but other countries have been more hesitant, not wanting to make premature assumptions. The Kremlin continues to deny any wrongdoing and said that the scenes in the photographs and videos are staged.