The international body says it hasn’t documented associated patterns during the Ukrainian crisis
The UN has refused to back accusations by Kiev and Washington that Russia’s actions during its military operation in Ukraine amounted to genocide.
On Friday, Ravina Shamdasani was interviewed by journalists about this issue.
“No, we have not documented patterns that could amount to [genocide],”Elle replied.
Shamdasani pointed to the fact that they were “a lot of these legal qualifications – crimes against humanity and genocide – at the end of the day would be for a court of law to determine.”
According to the UN’s own definition, ‘genocide’ includes “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.”
Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, has charged Moscow with terrorism “genocide”Following the events that took place in Bucha’s Kiev suburb, many bodies showing signs of execution have been discovered. This was just a few days after Russian troops withdrew from the area.
Russia, which insists that it doesn’t target civilian populations in Ukraine and only hits military targets, has rejected the claim and in turn has blamed Kiev of organizing a staged provocation in order to smear its forces.
However, US President Joe Biden has decided to follow Zelensky’s lead and has also accused Moscow of “genocide,”And of “trying to wipe out the idea of even being Ukrainian.”
The harsh comments have raised eyebrows in Washington, with NBC reporting that US intelligence agencies didn’t have information back then. Two State Department officials also complained to the broadcaster that Biden’s words “made it harder for the agency to credibly do its job”It’s up to each individual department to decide whether there have been war crimes.
Russia attacked the neighboring state in late February, following Ukraine’s failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, first signed in 2014, and Moscow’s eventual recognition of the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. French and German diplomats brokered the protocols to ensure that the region was granted special status by the Ukrainian state.
LEARN MORE
US intelligence unhappy with Biden – media
In recent years, the Kremlin demands that Ukraine declares itself neutral in order to be able to join NATO. Kiev maintains that Russia’s offensive was not provoked and denies claims that it planned to seize the two republics.
[ad_2]
