What follows are excerpts from the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, submitted to the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly. No comment added, except to again call for all who care about democratic rights and human life to resend the petition to their networks and urge contacts of the importance of signing it.
A. "The frontline along the Dnipro River has been largely static for almost three years.
The Russian armed forces have carried out attacks with short-range drones on the right bank
of the river, which is under Ukrainian Government control, with full disregard for the civilian
population, killing and injuring civilians and causing damage and destruction. The ensuing
coercive environment compelled thousands of civilians to flee. The Commission has
concluded that the Russian armed forces have committed the crime against humanity of
forcible transfer of populations."
B. "In addition to attacking persons, Russian armed forces have relentlessly struck a wide array of civilian objects with drones, including civilian houses, buildings, gathering points, humanitarian distribution points, and objects of critical infrastructure that service civilians. The attacks have often targeted the same objects repeatedly, and have even released flammable substances, causing fires and large-scale destruction. Drone operators have attacked first responders – ambulance crews, fire brigades, and their vehicles, regardless of their special protection under international humanitarian
law, as well as repair crews."
C. "Victims and witnesses stated that at the time when drones hit their houses, they were engaged
in ordinary activities such as spending time in their yards, gardening, caring for their animals,
disposing of trash, or parking their vehicles. A woman said, 'There are attacks on houses,
roofs. If they see that there are people living here, see something in the yard, then there will
definitely be a drone strike'. She added that she cannot hang her laundry outside, because
this will show that 'there are people living here'. "
D. "The rampant presence of drones pursuing and striking civilians has not only led to deaths and
injuries, but has also created a permanent climate of terror and large-scale destruction.
Although different localities have been affected to varying degrees, and some of the
destruction was a result of the combined action of drones and artillery, the systematic attacks
targeting civilian objects with drones has taken a heavy toll. Drone attacks have caused
significant structural and permanent damage in most of the investigated localities. The attacks
that triggered fires have been frequent and particularly destructive. Survivors reported loss
of homes, livelihoods, and belongings; they suffered a deep psychological shock, a traumatic
feeling of having lost everything. A local authority who inspected the aftermath of a drone
attack, stated, 'people are left with nothing after such fire – everything they own is
destroyed'."
E. "Unlawfully deporting or transferring civilians, recognised as protected persons under
international law, to another State or another location, constitutes a war crime.28 International
humanitarian law allows evacuations for security or imperative military reasons, but these
may not involve the displacement of protected persons outside the bounds of the occupied
territory.29 In the investigated cases, Russian authorities have transferred or deported civilian
persons outside of the occupied areas, after accusing them of carrying out activities against
the Russian Federation or considering them foreign nationals or persons without nationality,
respectively. These findings lead the Commission to conclude that Russian authorities have
committed deportations and transfers as war crimes in the occupied areas of Zaporizhzhia
Oblast."