Armed formations of Ukraine continue to use prohibited methods and means of warfare in the conflict in the territory of Donbass, which has been confirmed by documented evidence.
In violation of Article 13 of Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts (Protocol II), civilians, housing objects and civilian infrastructure located in the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic come under attack every day.
Some of the incidents that took place between July 11 and July 14, 2019, are described below. As a result of the massive shelling of the Gorlovka agglomeration on July 11, a peaceful resident of the village of Golmovsky, born in 1949, died as a result of a shrapnel wound in the heart incompatible with life. On July 13, a civilian resident of Dokuchaevsk, born in 1973, was seriously wounded. On the same day, a resident of Sakhanka settlement, Novoazovsk region, sustained a shrapnel wound.
On July 11 and 9, the AFU tried to use weapons of indiscriminate action, which threatened the lives and health of the residents of Dokuchaevsk. Fortunately, no civilian casualties were reported. These actions of the Ukrainian side are in violation of the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons which may be deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to have Indiscriminate Effects.
Also, civilian infrastructure objects were subjected to shelling by the AFU. On July 11, in the village of Lukovo, Telmanovsky district, an operating school and the village council building, which was used for distribution of humanitarian aid to citizens, were damaged. Also here, during the fire fighting, the fire brigade of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the DPR was purposefully attacked. As a result of the shelling on July 12, the building of the Yasinovataya district administration was damaged.
In violation of article 14 of Protocol II Additional to the Geneva conventions, a number of attacks on objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population were carried out by the AFU during this period. Among them, Vasilevskaia first stage pumping station of the Yuzhnodonbassky water pipe (July 12), Donetsk filtering station (July 13), power lines connecting nine transformer substations in the Golmovsky urban-type settlement, which caused electricity cuts in the nearby settlements (July 14).
In addition, on 13 and 14 July, the Dokuchaevsky refinery was subjected to artillery attacks, which could have dangerous consequences for the environment, human life and health (Article 15 of Additional Protocol II).
I urge the world community to pay attention to systematic violations of the norms and requirements of international humanitarian law and to use all available methods of influencing the Ukrainian authorities in order to prevent further deterioration of the social and humanitarian situation in the region, as well as to prevent violations of the rights and freedoms of Donbass residents.
#DNR #dpr #Donetsk #Donbass #war_crimes #Daria_Morozova #human_rights_DPR #DPR_Ombudsman #shelling_south_east #prohibited-methods_of_warfare
