On 22 June 2020, in violation of requirements of international humanitarian law on the prohibition of attacking civilian objects and indiscriminate attacks, during military operations, the Armed Forces of Ukraine (hereinafter – the Armed Forces of Ukraine) fired at the village of Aleksandrovka.
A civilian man, born in 1975, died as a result of the shelling. There were two more civilians under fire together with the victim. In spite of the numerous requests for access to the victim, Ukrainian soldiers continued to shell the village. Managing to obtain security guarantees for the observance of the ceasefire by the Ukrainian side was only in the morning the next day. The evacuation of the deceased man and two civilians from the scene was carried out at 8:40, after which the AFU resumed shelling the village of Aleksandrovka using RCL.
This fact violates the norms of Clause 1 of Article 3 of the Geneva Convention from 12 August 1949 on the Protection of Civilian Population in Time of War.
The actions of the AFU not only undermine the agreement on an open-ended ceasefire, which entered into force on 21 July 2019, but also pose a direct threat to the lives of Donbas civilians.
On this fact, I sent appeals to international organizations. I call on the world community to give a proper legal assessment of Ukraine’s actions and use all available means to prevent further escalation of the conflict and return to a peaceful dialogue within the framework of the Minsk negotiation process. I hope that the use of prohibited methods of warfare by the armed formations of Ukraine will not be neglected by the international community.
