The Amnesty International report on Ukraine has generated a fierce pushback.
The report,released on Thursday (Ukraine time),drew angry denunciations from top Ukrainian officials and criticism from Western diplomats,who accused the authors of making vague claims that appeared to equate the Ukrainian military’s defensive actions to the tactics of the invading Russians.
“It is painful to admit,but I and the leadership of Amnesty International have split over values,” Pokalchuk wrote. “I believe that any work done for the good of society should take into account the local context,and think through consequences.”
Russia has repeatedly justified attacks on civilian areas by alleging that Ukrainian fighters had set up firing positions at the targeted locations.
Pokalchuk said her office had asked the organisation’s leadership to give the Ukrainian Defence Ministry adequate time to respond to the report’s findings and argued that its failure to do so would further Kremlin misinformation and propaganda efforts.
Debris hangs from a residential building heavily damaged in a Russian bombing in Bakhmut,eastern Ukraine.Credit:AP
“I am convinced that our surveys should be done thoroughly,bearing in mind the people whose lives often depend directly on the words and actions of international organisations,” she said.
In a news release that accompanied the report’s publication,Amnesty International Secretary-general Agnes Callamard said the organisation had “documented a pattern of Ukrainian forces putting civilians at risk and violating the laws of war when they operate in populated areas”.