Russian strike in Ukraine puts millions in trouble, says UN rights chief – National

At least 77 civilians have been killed and millions are in extreme hardship since October after a Russian attack on critical infrastructure in Ukraine, said the executive director of the UN Human Rights Commission on Thursday. said.

Much of the country remained short of heat and electricity after the most devastating Russian airstrikes ever hit the energy grid. It launches missiles once a week.

Moscow has acknowledged the attacks on basic infrastructure but denies targeting civilians, saying it aims to degrade Ukraine’s combat capabilities and force negotiations. . Kyiv says such attacks are war crimes.

“These strikes have forced millions of people into extreme hardship and appalling living conditions,” Volker Turk said in a statement. “Overall, this poses serious problems under international humanitarian law, requiring specific and direct military superiority for each target.”

In the same statement, he said a UN preliminary analysis of videos that appeared to show Ukrainian soldiers executing Russian prisoners of war said they were “very likely to be real.” Kyiv had previously said it would investigate allegations of human rights abuses by the military.

2:11Russian state TV spins global news exclusively on Canada-targeted propaganda

UN surveillance teams say both Russia and Ukraine tortured prisoners of war.

Turkey called on both Russia and Ukraine to give clear instructions to their forces on the treatment of prisoners of war, and said all allegations of summary executions should be fully investigated.