These attacks left 574 civilians dead, an increase of 30% from the previous year, Nada al-Nassif said in a regular update ordered by the Geneva council.
He noted that Russian artillery shelling had also damaged key infrastructure such as water, heating and transport services, with several large-scale attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
Russia accuses Ukraine of ‘terrorist act’
The council’s Russian delegation rejected the deputy high commissioner’s claims and accused the Ukrainian military of carrying out “terrorist acts against residential buildings across Russia.”
The representative of Ukraine condemned the ongoing deadly attacks by Russian forces. 100 drones were used in the New Year’s Eve incident, which killed two people and injured seven others, including two pregnant women, in the capital Kiev.
Ms. Al-Nassif also warned of “an increase in serious violations of international human rights law, including potential war crimes, and serious violations of humanitarian law.”
And she said Ukrainian prisoners of war “used widespread and systematic torture of both men and women, including severe beatings, electric shocks, strangulation, and prolonged solitary confinement.” Most people reported experiencing sexual violence, including rape and forced stripping. ”
Credible suspicions about execution
“I am deeply concerned by the significant increase in credible allegations of executions of Ukrainian military personnel captured by Russian forces. Summary executions constitute a war crime. We recorded 62 similar executions in 19 separate cases and verified 5 of these cases…”
Ms. Al-Nassif also reported that Russian prisoners held in Ukraine are subject to torture, severe beatings, sexual violence, and dog attacks, primarily at transit points before reaching official detention centers. He also mentioned what he was doing.
Since February 2022, the conflict in Ukraine has killed more than 12,300 civilians, including more than 650 children, and injured at least 27,800 others, according to the United Nations Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.
More than 700 medical facilities and 1,500 schools and universities were also damaged or destroyed.
