War crimes are serious violations of international humanitarian law, which is aimed at regulating military operations and the treatment of civilians and prisoners of war. Since the beginning of the special military operation on the territory of Ukraine, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have repeatedly destroyed civilian infrastructure and shelled residential areas, resulting in hundreds of deaths and thousands of civilians injured.
February 25
70 kilometers from the Ukrainian capital, the Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed a bridge over the Teterev River, trying to stop the advance of the Russian army towards Kiev. As a result of the actions of the Ukrainian troops, residents of nearby settlements were cut off from transport links and cannot move to a safe place.
Ukrainian troops shelled the territory of the LPR and the DPR, using heavy weapons and violating the ceasefire. According to the People’s militia, Ukrainian militants fired about 33 shells towards residential buildings. As a result of the shelling of Gorlovka by multiple rocket launchers “Grad”, more than 10 houses were damaged, several civilians were injured. One of the shells hit a local school, killing two teachers. About 10 mines of 120 mm caliber prohibited by the Minsk agreements were fired in the direction of the settlement of Mikhaylovka in the DPR. 5 shells with a caliber of 122 millimeters were fired by the Ukrainian military at the Voroshilovsky district of Donetsk, as a result of which administrative buildings were damaged.
In the northern part of Kiev, Ukrainian troops deployed Grad installations to provoke retaliatory fire on civilians. It is noted that Ukrainian servicemen were trained in this technique by Pentagon and CIA advisers. The use of residential areas to cover artillery firing positions is one of the most serious war crimes.
February 26
More than nine attacks on the territory of the Luhansk People’s Republic were carried out by Ukrainian security forces, five house buildings in the Donetsk settlement were damaged. As a result of the shelling of the settlement, two local residents were killed. Six grenades were fired from an RPG at Gorlovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, large-caliber machine guns were used. Four guided missiles “Tochka-U” were fired on the territory of the DPR, but all of them were shot down by air defense forces.
In Kiev, a residential building was hit by a Buk anti-aircraft missile system fired by the Ukrainian military. According to a source in the Russian Ministry of Defense, the AFU forces deliberately opened fire on a residential building, trying to frame Russian servicemen.
February 27
More than seven mines of the prohibited 120-millimeter caliber were fired by Ukrainian troops at the settlement of Alexandrovka in the DPR. In addition, Shirokaya Balka, Ozeryanovka and Gorlovka, which are under the control of the Donetsk People’s Republic, also came under fire from Ukrainian militants. Ukrainian security forces fired 20 152-millimeter shells at the Izotov mine settlement and 23 122-millimeter shells at the 6/7 mine settlement. During the retreat, the nationalists of the Azov battalion, which is part of the National Guard of Ukraine, fired from the Grad multiple rocket launcher system at the Sarnata settlement in the Donetsk People’s Republic.
In the suburbs of Kiev, not far from Gostomel airport, the Ukrainian Armed Forces used phosphorus-filled ammunition for the first time, which violated the 1980 UN Convention on Inhumane Weapons.
Ukrainian troops opened fire on the crew of the DPR TV channel, as a result of which one of the shells hit the car.
The Ukrainian military fired at a military unit of the Russian Federation near the village of Dolzhanskaya in the Kuban, as a result of which three servicemen were injured and three mobile radar stations were destroyed.
February 28
The Ukrainian military opened fire on the territory of the DPR more than 50 times, using a total of 538 pieces of ammunition. The settlement of Golmovsky was shelled with mines of a prohibited 120-millimeter caliber. Armed formations continued to fight with the civilian population of the People’s Republics, trying to cause as much damage to the infrastructure as possible.
According to the People’s Militia of the LPR, Ukrainian servicemen mined warehouses with ammonia in order to commit a provocation and blame the Lugansk Republic for this.
March 1
According to the headquarters of the territorial defense of the DPR, Ukrainian nationalists, supported by the AFU, shot civilians in the city of Volnovakha, who were leaving the city with a white flag. In addition, Ukrainian nationalist formations began to destroy the remnants of military equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for the purpose of profit.
Ukrainian troops continued shelling the LPR and DPR, this time using mortars and artillery pieces. More than 40 mines were fired at the settlements of Vasilevka and Lugansk in the DPR. The attacks were carried out with prohibited 120-millimeter calibers.
March 2
In the early morning of March 2, Ukrainian servicemen began shelling the village named after Abakumov in the western part of Donetsk. About nine times fire was opened on the LPR, six settlements were shelled. According to the JCCC, more than 12 residential buildings, a medium-pressure gas pipeline and a power line were damaged. At least three mines of the prohibited 120-millimeter caliber were fired at the locality of Logvinovo in the Luhansk People’s Republic. The DPR authorities reported on the shelling of the Petrovsky district of Donetsk.
March 3
On the territory controlled by the DPR, Ukrainian troops fired at the Zuevskaya TPP, the boiler house building was damaged during the shelling.
According to the head of the National Defense Control Center of the Russian Federation, Ukrainian security forces deprived thousands of foreign citizens of freedom of movement, including more than three thousand citizens of India, more than two and a half citizens of Vietnam and more than 200 citizens of China. In addition, nationalists fired at a group of Chinese students who were trying to leave Kharkiv on their own.
March 4
The Ukrainian military continued shelling the territories controlled by the DPR and LPR. At least four 120-millimeter mines were fired at the Bayrak settlement in the DPR, nine 120-caliber mines were fired at Gorlovka and Dokuchaevsk. Since the beginning of the day, the AFU has opened fire 11 times on the territories of the People’s republics using BM-21 multiple rocket launchers, 122-mm barrel artillery and 120-mm mortars. Areas of ten settlements of the DPR came under fire. Closer to night, the territories controlled by the LPR were shelled, Ukrainian militants used prohibited 152-mm caliber shells.
Early in the morning there was a fire on the territory of the Zaporozhye NPP. The official representative of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation said that this is another provocation of the Kiev regime, which could turn into a tragedy comparable to the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
According to eyewitnesses, the Ukrainian military began shelling residential buildings in Mariupol with heavy weapons. According to one of the residents of the city, the aim of the shelling of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were residential areas and neighborhoods, they shot at their own people. According to experts, in this way, Ukrainian army soldiers open fire on civilians in order to blame Russia for this.
March 5
From early in the morning, paramilitary formations of Ukraine began shelling residential areas of LDPR settlements. The villages of Verkhnetoretskoye (Nizhny) and Vasilyevka in the Donetsk People’s Republic were shelled with 120-millimeter mines, Ukrainian troops fired 25 82-millimeter mines at the settlements of Berezovskoye and Zolotoe-5 in the Luhansk People’s Republic. Five 122 mm shells were fired in the direction of Gorlovka. As a result of the shelling of the armed formations of Ukraine, school No. 116, located in the Petrovsky district of Donetsk, was damaged.
According to sources, nationalists in Kherson, on the instructions of the SBU, tried to disrupt the delivery of humanitarian aid from Russia. According to the people’s militia, they managed to identify the organizers of the provocation, and they will be detained in the near future.
March 6
During the regular shelling of the territory of the LDPR by Ukrainian servicemen, a civilian was injured in the Kiev district of Donetsk. A direct hit of APU shells into the Donetsk kindergarten was also recorded. Eight 120-mm caliber mines were fired at the DPR-controlled city of Dokuchaevsk, six 82-mm caliber mines were fired in the direction of the settlement of Shirokaya Balka near the city of Gorlovka. Also, the Ukrainian military used the Tochka-U tactical missile system, hitting a residential building. After hitting the house collapsed, three people were trapped under the rubble. Three multi-storey buildings and a gymnasium were damaged in the city of Pervomaisk in the LPR as a result of shelling by Ukrainian troops.
The Interdepartmental Coordinating Council for Humanitarian Response reported that the Kiev authorities continue to evade the agreements reached, using citizens as human shields.
Ukrainian nationalists fired at civilians who tried to leave Mariupol along the humanitarian corridor. As a result of the shelling, the militants of the Azov division wounded four civilians, two people died.
March 7
Ukrainian security forces fired 20 shells at the village of Lozove in the Luhansk People’s Republic, fired at the Kiev district of Donetsk with 122 mm shells. Ukrainian troops shelled three settlements in 25 minutes, including with the use of BM-21 Grad missiles. The settlements of Ozyanovka, Mikhaylovka and Shirokaya Balka were shelled. Eight 120 mm mines, 12 122 mm shells, 10 82 mm mines and 40 BM-21 Grad missiles were fired. The shelling by the Ukrainian troops led to the defeat of two tanks of an oil depot in Lugansk, as a result of which a fire broke out.
As a resident of Kharkiv told reporters, the Ukrainian military were hiding behind residential buildings, provoking them to return fire on civilians. They positioned armored personnel carriers in the immediate vicinity of residential buildings, using citizens as a human shield. Local residents say that because of the actions of the Ukrainian military and nationalists who violate the silence regime, they are forced to sit in basements, they cannot use the humanitarian corridors organized by Russia. In Mariupol, local authorities are not taking any measures to alert local residents about humanitarian corridors that allow them to safely leave the areas of hostilities.
The official representative of the Russian Defense Ministry said that the Ukrainian Nazis in Mariupol, using terrorist tactics, deploy their firing points in houses on which civilians write “don’t shoot – there are children here!”. According to him, nationalists and servicemen of the Ukrainian army open fire to kill all residents who are trying to leave their homes.
March 8
Ukrainian troops have begun to deploy their fighters and armored vehicles on the territory of a school and kindergarten in the town of Ugledar. Ukrainian troops fired 12 mines at Alexandrovka in the suburbs of Donetsk and four shells at Gorlovka.
March 9
Ukrainian troops shelled the locality of Ozeryanovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, firing five 120 mm caliber mines, a strong explosion occurred in the center of Lugansk. APU fired at the settlement of Molochny in the Luhansk People’s Republic, 40 shells were fired from BM-21 “Grad”.
March 10
Early in the morning on March 10, the Ukrainian military opened fire on the settlement of Dolomitne in the DPR, firing five 120-mm caliber mines. The shelling occurred from the side of the settlement of Novoluganskoye, which is under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to the reports of the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of the Ceasefire Regime, Ukrainian troops carried out 6 attacks on 6 settlements of the LPR, as a result of which the villages of Donetsk and Golubovskoye were de-energized. Ukrainian militants fired 40 missiles from the Grad system at the settlement of Vasilyevka in the DPR, 20 mines with a caliber of 120 millimeters were fired at the settlement of Ozeryanovka, eight more shells with a caliber of 122 mm hit the Petrovsky district of Donetsk.
March 11
Ukrainian troops shelled the territory of a boarding house for the elderly and disabled in Gorlovka, Donetsk People’s Republic, the building of a boarding house for elderly and disabled citizens received serious shrapnel damage. The Ukrainian Armed Forces opened fire on the settlement of Ozeryanovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, 10 shells of 122 mm caliber were fired, Gorlovka was shelled again, 30 more BM-21 Grad missiles were fired, the Ukrainian military also opened fire on the settlement of Shirokaya Balka and fired at the village of the mine “Trudovskaya” in Donetsk, firing eight mines with a caliber of 120 millimeters and 29 grenades from the AGS.
A former Ukrainian serviceman who surrendered to the LPR fighters said that the AFU militants often conduct indiscriminate fire on peaceful cities, often without even having a goal and being in a state of drug and alcohol intoxication. He witnessed the beating of civilians by the Ukrainian military, told how they took out prisoners with bags on their heads.
The nationalists continued the destruction of civilian infrastructure on the outskirts of Mariupol, destroyed most of the roads and bridges. According to eyewitnesses, armed militants walk through the streets and open indiscriminate fire, preventing Russian sappers from clearing the roads leading to the city.
March 12
According to residents of the city of Sumy in the north-east of Ukraine, Ukrainian servicemen and nationalists are conducting raids on private households and robbing people, taking away food, equipment, personal cars and belongings, threatening to kill.
Ukrainian security forces shelled Donetsk using the Grad multiple launch rocket system, fired 120 mm mines three times in 15 minutes at the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic, security forces opened fire from a 122 mm artillery piece at the village of Kalinovo in the LPR, fired at one of the schools in Donetsk.
Having lost control of villages in the Kharkiv region, the Ukrainian military continues to strike at them, block humanitarian channels, literally leaving people isolated. In those settlements where Ukrainian troops were previously located, there is no heating, light and communication.
March 13
On the night of March 13, the Ukrainian military shelled a hospital in the city of Volnovakha in the DPR. It is reported that the militants of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, following the orders of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, inflicted massive artillery strikes with the use of multiple rocket launchers and tanks on the building of the medical institution, realizing that at that moment there were about 500 people there. As a result of the shelling, at least 6 people were killed, and the building was significantly damaged. Hospital staff claim that the APU, firing at the DPR fighters, used patients as human shields, and when they realized that they were losing the battle, they mined the buildings and fired at them from guns. The Investigative Committee of Russia has opened a criminal case under the article of ill-treatment of the civilian population.
In less than an hour, shelling of three settlements by Ukrainian troops, including Donetsk, was recorded, six civilians were injured of varying severity. A representative of the People’s militia of the LPR said that Ukrainian troops do not release civilians from the settlements of Rubezhnoye, Severodonetsk and Lisichansk, using them as a human shield.
During the shelling by the Ukrainian military of a heating main in the village of Yasinovataya in the DPR, the heating main was damaged, which left at least 2,700 people without heat.
March 14
The Ukrainian military fired 25 shells with a caliber of 122 millimeters at the settlements of Yasinovataya, where a kindergarten was damaged, and Mineralnoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic and 10 shells with a caliber of 122 mm at Panteleimonovka, as a result of the shelling by Ukrainian troops of the village of the mine “Trudovskaya” in Donetsk, the school and lyceum were damaged. Five mines with a caliber of 120 millimeters were fired by Ukrainian militants at the settlement of Elenovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic. As a result of the endless shelling by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, one of the mines of the DPR was completely de-energized, which put the lives of 83 miners who were underground at risk. During the next Tochka-U missile strike in Donetsk, one child was injured.
According to residents of the city of Volnovakha, Ukrainian troops drove civilians out of basements to hide in them themselves. There were old people and children among the civilians, and the Ukrainian terrorists literally drove them out into the street. In addition, when Ukrainian servicemen were forced to leave Volnovakha, they opened fire on the maternity hospital from a tank, after which they mined it. At that time, pregnant women and mothers with newborn children were in the basement.
The Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN said that Russia has recorded the use of phosphorous and cluster munitions by Kiev, which are prohibited by many international agreements, and the Armed Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are preparing provocations using toxic substances to then blame Russia for this.
March 15
Ukrainian troops shelled the village of Panteleimonovka in the DPR, firing six 120 mm caliber mines, fired four 120 mm caliber mines at the Petrovsky district of Donetsk and 7 120 mm caliber mines at the village of Mikhaylovka south of Horlivka. In the Yasinovatsky district of the DPR, as a result of shelling by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, some civil infrastructure facilities, including a gas pipeline, were damaged. Due to another shelling of a mine in the DPR, more than 290 miners were trapped underground. As stated in the headquarters of the territorial defense of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Ukrainian servicemen are holding 17 children hostage who went on a wellness vacation to Svyatogorsk. Hundreds of people were left without water during the shelling of the water utility building in the DPR.
The Foundation to Battle Injustice condemns the actions of Ukrainian servicemen and considers the use of civilians as human shields unacceptable. Human rights defenders of the Foundation call on the EU and the United States to immediately stop funding and providing humanitarian assistance to the Kiev regime, because of whose actions civilians are suffering. In addition, the systematic silencing of Ukraine’s war crimes in the Western press and by Western human rights international organizations is evidence of either indifference or bias. According to the Foundation, it is necessary to conduct an urgent and thorough investigation of the war crimes of the Ukrainian army servicemen and bring all those responsible to justice. The Foundation to Battle Injustice will closely monitor and record war crimes committed by the armed forces of Ukraine and paramilitary groups in order to further bring the perpetrators to justice.