The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine took note of the report by the international non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch titled "Our City Was Gone”: Russia's Devastation of Mariupol, Ukraine".
The document provides a substantial amount of factual information confirming the clear war crimes committed by Russia during its blockade of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol between February and March 2022.
The report reveals that the strikes by Russian forces were largely indiscriminate. Utilizing analysis of satellite imagery, photographs, videos of the city's cemeteries, and witness accounts, Human Rights Watch estimates that, between March 2022 and February 2023, over 10,000 people were buried in Mariupol. At least 8,000 of these deaths were war-related.
A comprehensive assessment of the damage to buildings revealed that 93 percent of the 477 high-rise buildings in the central part of the city sustained damage as of mid-May 2022. Furthermore, all 19 hospitals in the city were damaged, along with 86 of the 89 educational institutions.
It is very important that Human Rights Watch identified 17 units of Russian and Russian-affiliated forces operating in Mariupol during the stated period. The report directly implicates 10 individuals from the upper echelons of Russia's political and military leadership, as well as commanders of specific military units, as being directly responsible for war crimes and other international crimes.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine supports Human Rights Watch's call for justice. Russia's actions represent a grave violation of international law, impacting a significant number of states. These states, in turn, should unite to hold Russia accountable.
The Ukrainian side has a vision regarding the ways for bringing Russia and its political and military leadership to justice for the crime of aggression and other international crimes, employing the mechanisms of international law.
Russia will be held accountable and compelled to compensate for all damages caused by its internationally wrongful acts.