The head of the Ukrainian chapter of Amnesty International resigned on Friday after the human rights group released a report that the Ukrainian army put itself at risk by placing itself in densely populated areas.
in a Facebook post from Friday nightOksana Pokalchuk accuses Amnesty International of failing to Acknowledging the reality of the war in Ukraine, ignoring advice from local staff, who urged the group to revise its report.
“It’s painful to admit, but the leadership of Amnesty International and I have disagreements on values,” Pokarczuk wrote. “I think any work done for the good of society should take into account the local context and consider the consequences.”
This ReportThis caused senior ukrainian official and Western international and military law scholaraccusing the Ukrainian army of violating international humanitarian law by establishing bases and operating weapons systems in schools, hospitals and other populated areas.
“We have documented a pattern of Ukrainian forces putting civilians at risk and violating the laws of war when the Ukrainian army operates in populated areas,” Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnès Callamard said in the report. “Being in a defensive position does not Release the Ukrainian army from responsibility for compliance with international humanitarian law.”
Pokalchuk claimed that by not giving the Ukrainian Defense Ministry enough time to respond to the report’s findings, the report had become a “tool of Russian propaganda.” Russian troops justified attacks in civilian areas by suggesting that Ukrainian fighters had set up firing positions at targeted sites.
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►Ukrainian military personnel are strengthening their positions around the eastern city of Slovensk in anticipation of another Russian attempt to seize strategically important positions in the fiercely fighting Donetsk region.
►The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said in Friday’s assessment Russian troops are increasingly moving personnel and equipment from the Donbass to southern Ukraine in response to a Ukrainian counteroffensive around the occupied port city of Kherson.
Russia, Ukraine accuse each other of attack
Russia and Ukraine on Friday blamed each other for the shelling of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest.
Ukrainian state nuclear power company Energoatom, said in a statement Friday Russian troops opened fire on the factory and “caused a humanitarian catastrophe in the city”.President Vladimir Zelensky in his Friday night speech Also blamed Russia, suggesting attacks should be responsible for the increase Sanctions against the country.
“This is the largest nuclear power plant on our continent. Any shelling of the facility is an open, blatant criminal act, an act of terror,” Zelensky said.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that the attack was carried out by Ukraine.
“Fortunately, the Ukrainian shells did not hit the nearby oil and fuel facilities and oxygen plant, thus avoiding a larger fire and possible radiation accident,” a statement from the ministry said. According to Reuters.
NATO:During Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Senate approves Finland and Sweden to join NATO
UK MoD says war nears ‘new phase’
This The British Ministry of Defence said on Saturday Russia’s war in Ukraine is approaching a “new phase” as intense fighting moves to the Dnieper parallel between Zaporozhye and Kherson.
The ministry said Russian troops were moving southwest, away from Ukraine’s Donbas region, “almost certainly” as a Ukrainian counteroffensive or possible attack is expected.
The ministry said Ukrainian troops had targeted bridges, ammunition depots and railways “with increasing frequency” in southern Ukraine.
Ukrainian grain shipments offer hope to solve food crisis
A ship carrying corn to the northern Lebanese port of Tripoli usually doesn’t cause a stir. But it got attention because it came from the Black Sea port of Odessa in Ukraine.
Loaded with more than 26,000 tons of corn for chicken feed, Razoni is emerging from the brink of a Russian war that threatens food supplies in countries such as Lebanon, which has the highest food inflation in the world – at a whopping 122% – and relies on almost all of its wheat in the Black Sea region.
Fighting has trapped 20 million tonnes of grain within Ukraine, and Razoni’s departure on Monday marks an important step towards extracting these grain supplies and delivering them to farms and bakeries to feed millions of poor people in Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia area.
“It’s actually a big deal to see a change in shipments,” said Jonathan Haynes, senior analyst at data and analytics firm Gro Intelligence. “That 26,000 tons is nothing out of the 20 million tons that are locked in. Absolutely nothing…but if we start to see this, every shipment will increase confidence.”
Contributed by: Associated Press
