Despite the ongoing negotiations russian forces continue war crimes against Ukraine
For one month and five days in a row, the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people have been resisting new and new attacks by the Russian occupiers in various directions. Ukraine appreciates all the assistance provided by international partners. However, for the sake of security and freedom, Ukraine NEEDS NATO a no-fly zone over Ukraine. Such actions will help protect Ukraine from Russian planes, drones and missiles.
The Russian occupiers are using methods that violate the rules of war. They attack civilian infrastructure, killing and injuring civilians, including children, and make actions that can have regional and international consequences. We have prepared an update of such actions of the occupiers as of the morning of March 29 (for March 27 – 28).
Zhytomyr region
On March 28 the Russian occupiers fired at civilian enterprise in the Korosten district. State Emergency Service of Ukraine reported no one was injured.
Kyiv region
On March 27 the Russian occupiers shelled with artillery residential houses in one of the villages in the Fastivskyi district, Kyiv region. The National Police of Ukraine reported 12 people were injured, 1 child was among them.
Chernihiv region
The Russian occupiers daily fire at the civilian quarters of Chernihiv with artillery, missiles and aircraft. On March 27 the Russian troops shelled residential multistory buildings in one of the districts of the city, Suspilne.Chernihiv reported. Information about casualties is being clarified. Also, the head of the Chernihiv Regional Civil-Military Administration Viacheslav Chaus informed that on March 27 the civilian infrastructure of the suburbans of Nizhyn was shelled by the Russian troops.
We remind that the humanitarian situation in Chernihiv is critical due to actions of the Russian occupiers. Only one path from the city is available for evacuation and delivery of the necessary goods, but it is extremely dangerous as this is the pedestrian bridge which is constantly under the Russian shelling. There is no any electricity, heating and water supply in Chernihiv for weeks. The city faces lack of food and medicines.
On March 29 Chernihiv’s mayor, Vladyslav Atroshenko reported that more than 350 civilian people were killed and more than 400 people were injured in the city since the start of the full-scale invasion of the Russian troops. He stressed, that these days the Russian occupiers were using mortar blasts for shelling Chernihiv. As it is impossible to shoot accurately with this type of weapon it is evidence that the Russian troops aim to kill the civilian residents, not only combatants.
Sumy region
The Russian occupiers terrorize the population of the temporally occupied territories of the Sumy region. General Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine reported that the convoy of Russian troops was moving near the village of Chumakove on March 27. The driver of one of the Russian military vehicles deliberately ran over three pedestrians who were moving on the side of the road in the same direction. 1 person was killed, 2 people were injured.
The General Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine also reported that the body of a man was found in Trostyanets, which was liberated by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on March 26. He was tortured by the Russian occupiers. The identity of the murdered person is being established.
Kharkiv region
The Russian occupiers continue to shell Kharkiv and settlements of the Kharkiv region with artillery and aircraft. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine reported that at least 19 fires caused by Russian troops had been recorded in the region during March 28. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine also reported that on March 28, the Russian occupiers, while shelling Kharkiv, damaged the former fire department – the building of 1887, an architectural monument of the Kharkiv region.
In total, since the start of the full-scale invasion, the Russian troops destroyed 1,410 civilian infrastructure facilities in Kharkiv with missiles and artillery strikes. The vast majority of them are apartment buildings. The mayor of Kharkiv Igor Terekhov reported about it.
Luhansk region
The Russian occupiers have been shelling Severodonetsk, Lysychansk and Rubizhne with artillery and aircraft for a month. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine reported that on March 28 in Severodonetsk at least two 5-storey buildings were damaged by fire from Russian troops. At least two people were killed. Also in Lysychansk, several residential buildings were damaged by shelling on March 28. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine clarifies information about the casualties.
Kherson region
On March 28, Russian militants broke into the Office of Representative of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, located in Kherson. Occupiers removed the Ukrainian flag from the building and took out the equipment and all the documents that remained there. The employees of the Office were previously evacuated and currently work remotely from the territory controlled by the Government of Ukraine.
On March 27, it became known that Russian militants shelled the village Stanislav, located in the Kherson region. Kherson Regional Prosecutor’s Office reported that 2 civilians were killed, the infrastructure and the private buildings were damaged.
On March 28, Russian militants kidnapped Oleksiy Konovalov, a deputy of the Henichesk Council from the “Servant of the People” party. According to Yuriy Sobolevsky, first deputy chairman of the Kherson regional Council, Oleksiy Konovalov with his wife were driving in the direction of Henichesk. The occupiers stopped them on the blockpost to check the documents. When the Russian soldiers found out who Oleksiy Konovalov is, they captured him and his wife. There is also information about the abduction of Oleksandr Babich, the head of the city Hola Prystan, and Svitlana Fomina, the head of Kalanchak.
Crimea
On March 28, Lyudmyla Denisova, Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, reported that Russian Federation conducts forced mobilization of men from the occupied Crimea. A regular army conscription campaign will start in April. However, residents of Crimea are already receiving the summons. Furthermore, Russian militants threatened Crimean Tatars with using force against their relatives if they don`t participate in the war against Ukraine. Such brutal actions of the Russian Federation are classified as a war crime, according to the Rome Statute.
Donetsk region
On March 27, Vadim Boychenko, Mayor of Mariupol reported that Russian troops have forcefully deported to Russia and occupied regions of Ukraine approximately 30 thousand residents of Mariupol. The precise number of captured civilians cannot be determined. Moreover, there were cases when Russian invaders deported kids to a hospital in occupied Donetsk without their parents.
On March 27, Russian militants fired at Krasnohorivka from the rocket launchers Tornado-C. The National Police reported that Russian troops shelled residential areas with banned cluster munitions. Ammunition fell in the private sector. The Police have already surrounded the dangerous area to neutralize warheads. The self-destruct time of cluster munitions can be up to 40 hours, therefore it is dangerous to be near them.
On March 28, Vadym Boychenko, the Mayor of Mariupol reported that at least 170 thousand civilians still remain in Mariupol. The city is completely destroyed by the Russian attacks. Those people who remained in Mariupol are on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe. There is no food, water, light, and heat supply in the city. Nevertheless, the Russian side does not allow civilians to leave Mariupol or at least to receive humanitarian aid, provided by the Ukrainian side. Occupiers continue to hold constant shellings and airstrikes on Mariupol. Meanwhile, 26 evacuation buses are currently blocked by Russian militants. According to preliminary estimates, at least 5 000 civilians were killed by Russian attacks on Mariupol.
The head of the Donetsk regional military-civil administration Pavlo Kyrylenko reported that on March 27, the Russian occupiers dropped phosphorous bombs on Avdiivka. This type of weapon is prohibited by the Geneva Convention.
Zaporizhia region
On March 26, Representatives of the Russian commandant’s office gathered the heads of building co-owners associations in Melitopol and demanded them to report on “where the fascists live”. According to Zaporizhia regional military administration, Russian militants consider “fascists” all those who do not agree that Melitopol is Russia, who keeps or demonstrates the Ukrainian flag or coat of arms, as well as those who consider the Ukrainian government the only legitimate one. Furthermore, Ukrainian journalists that are still working on the occupied territories of the Zaporizhia region received multiple threats.
On March 28, Russian militants kidnapped Iryna Shcherbak, head of the education department of the Melitopol City Council. The Mayor of Melitopol reported that Russians were trying to force educators in the city to teach children according to the new Russian educational program. No school principal or kindergarten principal agreed to interact with the occupiers. That`s why Russian militants captured Iryna Scherbak and accused her of wasting the budget funds.
Mykolaiv region
On March 27, Russian occupiers continued massive shellings of residential areas in the Mykolaiv region. Anna Zamazeeva, the head of the Mykolaiv regional council, reported that 30 civilians were injured by Russian missiles. Currently, 279 people, who suffered from Russian attacks, are receiving medical care in local hospitals.
Kherson region
On March 27, Residents of the temporarily occupied Kherson once again went to the peaceful rally. According to the “Most” media, Russian militants fired at civilians and used against them gas grenades. Al least one protester was shot in the leg. The precise number of victims is being clarified.
