Russia-Ukraine war: UN says Russian strikes violated international law principles

Russia’s strikes across civilian targets in Ukraine in recent days were subject to international condemnation. The United Nations Human Rights Commission said the latest strikes by Russia violated international law principles.

The spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said during a news conference Tuesday that Russia’s latest strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine breached the principles of conduct of hostilities under international humanitarian law. The spokesperson also called on Russia to cease further escalation.

“We are gravely concerned that some of the attacks appear to have targeted critical civilian infrastructure…indicating that these strikes may have violated the principles on the conduct of hostilities under international humanitarian law,” said spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani.

“We urge the Russian Federation to refrain from further escalation, and to take all feasible measures to prevent civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure.”

Around 14 people were killed, and dozens of others were injured from the strikes across Ukraine. The strikes followed the partial blast on the Kerch Strait bridge that linked the annexed Crimea to the Russian mainland. Moscow accused Ukraine of partially blowing up the bridge with a truck bomb.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and many other world leaders condemned the widespread strikes. In a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Draghi said Russia’s strikes were unacceptable and “brutal.” Draghi said the strikes only “further aggravate Russian responsibilities,” according to a statement of the call released by the prime minister’s office.

Senior United States officials said Tuesday that Washington and its allies would continue to pressure Russia over the war it is waging on Ukraine, stressing continued support ahead of when finance officials all over the world gather in the US this week.

Ahead of the high-level meetings in the coming days, the officials said Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen would stress the impact of the war on the global economy.

Yellen will be meeting with her counterparts in the G7 group of countries on Wednesday and the G20 group of countries, including Russia, on Thursday in the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.