Amnesty International: Ukraine Armed Forces Hiding Weapons Systems in Heavily Populated Areas, Including in Schools and Hospitals

By Amnesty International. Ukrainian forces have put civilians in harm’s way by establishing bases and operating weapons systems in populated residential areas, including in schools and hospitals, as they repelled the Russian invasion that began in February, Amnesty International said today.

Such tactics violate international humanitarian law and endanger civilians, as they turn civilian objects into military targets. The ensuing Russian strikes in populated areas have killed civilians and destroyed civilian infrastructure.

“We have documented a pattern of Ukrainian forces putting civilians at risk and violating the laws of war when they operate in populated areas,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General. . .

Between April and July, Amnesty International researchers spent several weeks investigating Russian strikes in the Kharkiv, Donbas and Mykolaiv regions. The organization inspected strike sites; interviewed survivors, witnesses and relatives of victims of attacks; and carried out remote-sensing and weapons analysis. Throughout these investigations, researchers found evidence of Ukrainian forces launching strikes from within populated residential areas as well as basing themselves in civilian buildings in 19 towns and villages in the regions. The organization’s Crisis Evidence Lab has analyzed satellite imagery to further corroborate some of these incidents.

Most residential areas where soldiers located themselves were kilometres away from front lines. Viable alternatives were available that would not endanger civilians – such as military bases or densely wooded areas nearby, or other structures further away from residential areas. In the cases it documented, Amnesty International is not aware that the Ukrainian military who located themselves in civilian structures in residential areas asked or assisted civilians to evacuate nearby buildings – a failure to take all feasible precautions to protect civilians. (Read more from “Amnesty International: Ukraine Armed Forces Hiding Weapons Systems in Heavily Populated Areas, Including in Schools and Hospitals” HERE)

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Zelensky Seeks Direct Talks With Xi Amid War With Russia

By Bloomberg. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged Chinese leader Xi Jinping to hold direct talks, noting Beijing hasn’t replied to such requests since Russia invaded his country some five months ago.

The last time the pair spoke was one year ago, Zelenskiy told the South China Morning Post in an interview published Thursday. Since Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24, he said the Ukrainian side had “asked officially for a conversation” with Xi but hadn’t received a response. Such a dialog, he added, “would be helpful.”

The leader of the world’s second largest economy has refused to condemn Russia’s war in Ukraine and declared a “no limits” friendship with Putin weeks before the invasion, making any call with Zelenskiy potentially awkward. Xi and Putin spoke within days of the war’s beginning, and the Russian leader called Xi on the latter’s birthday in June.

Dialog between Ukraine and China has been limited to lower level diplomatic exchanges, such as those between Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Ukrainian counterpart. (Read more from “Zelensky Seeks Direct Talks With Xi Amid War With Russia” HERE)

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