The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine welcomes the second report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, the findings of which will be discussed on March 19 within the framework of the UN Human Rights Council.

The Commission has gathered additional evidence of serious violations and international crimes, including war crimes and potentially crimes against humanity, committed by the Russian authorities in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

The Commission’s conclusions are shocking: torture, deliberate killings, rape and other crimes related to sexual violence, illegal deprivation of liberty of civilians, enforced disappearances, illegal deportation of Ukrainian children, attacks and destruction of objects of cultural and historical heritage.

New evidence confirms the Commission's previous findings that the Russian authorities continue systematic torture of both Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war, that constitute war crimes against Ukrainians committed in the temporarily occupied territories and in the Russian Federation.

It is important that the report assesses the serious consequences of hostilities and the siege of Mariupol for the peaceful residents at the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion. The document records a large number of casualties and damage to civilian objects, destruction of medical facilities, as well as testimonies of affected residents of Mariupol.

The conclusions of the Commission indicate the need for further investigation, including for future qualification of serious international crimes committed by Russia against the Ukrainian people, which should become part of the cases for consideration by international courts and tribunals.

The Russian side, despite calls from the international community and the provisions of several UN General Assembly resolutions, as well as despite regular appeals from the Commission, continues to ignore requests for information and access to international experts to the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

We call on the international community to continue systematic pressure on Russia to put an end to Russian aggression, atrocities, and terror, ensure accountability of Russian criminals, demand access for international monitoring organizations and humanitarian missions to illegally detained Ukrainian civilians, release, and exchange prisoners of war.

The crimes documented by the Commission testify to the scale of atrocities unseen in Europe since World War II. All those guilty of them must be punished. Accountability for the committed is what Russian occupiers fear most, and therefore the task of the entire world community is to make this accountability inevitable.