US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield spoke at an event on Russian human rights abuses and crimes in Ukraine and said the US believed that Russian troops had committed crimes against humanity in Ukraine.
“Calling (the actions of Russian troops) crimes against humanity is not an easy decision,” she said. “But in this case, the evidence is undeniable.”
According to Thomas-Greenfield, an independent international commission of inquiry on Ukraine, established by the Human Rights Council last March, and the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine have documented a wide range of atrocities and other violations committed by Russian forces, as well as the resettlement, re-education and adoption of thousands of Ukrainian children.
“We have evidence that President Putin and the Kremlin are actively involved in efforts to deny and suppress Ukraine’s identity, history and culture,” she said.
She called on Russia to end the “inhumane” war, return children to their parents and guardians, provide registration lists for seized children and allow independent monitors to visit facilities in areas of Ukraine controlled or occupied by Russia and in Russia itself.
“Our message to President Putin is: End this war. Complete your brutality campaign. End the suffering that your (military) forces have caused to Ukraine and to the whole world,” the US ambassador to the UN said.
