Summary executions and premeditated murders are being committed by both pro-Russian separatists and pro-Kyiv forces in eastern Ukraine, however some of the more shocking cases that have been reported, particularly by Russian media, have been hugely exaggerated, according to Amnesty International human rights organization.
“There is no doubt that summary killings and atrocities are being committed by both pro-Russian separatists and pro-Kyiv forces in Eastern Ukraine, but is difficult to get an accurate sense of the scale of these abuses. It is likely that many have not yet been exposed and that others have been deliberately misrecorded. It is also clear that some of the more shocking cases that have been reported, particularly by Russian media, have been hugely exaggerated,” Director of Amnesty International office in Ukraine Tetiana Mazur said at a briefing in Kyiv on Monday during the presentation of the report “Summary Killings during the Conflict in Eastern Ukraine.”
According to her, the actual images that Russian media present as “mass graves” in Nyzhnia Krynka, are “terrible indeed.” “Everything points at summary executions of four local citizens either by the regular Armed Forces of Ukraine or by volunteer battalions operating in the area. These facts must be investigated closely by authorized agencies. However, this episode shows how much accusations of violations are exaggerated, especially by Russian authorities and under the conditions of information war,” Mazur said.
In addition, Amnesty International’s report lists cases of premeditated murders by separatists in eastern Ukraine, whose victims include pro-Ukrainian activists and their supposed supporters, local criminals and captured combatants.
At the same time, the organization didn’t find or receive any conclusive evidence of mass murders and graves. “What we have seen are isolated incidents of summary executions that in some cases constitute war crimes. These abuses must stop. All suspected cases should be effectively investigated and those responsible from both sides prosecuted,” Mazur summed up.
The research by Amnesty International was conducted in eastern Ukraine (Donbas) at the end of August and at the end of September 2014. The data was collected during interviews with victims of human rights’ violations and their families, eyewitnesses, local officials in Luhansk and Donetsk regions, medical workers and combatants from both parties.
