Jenewa, The Indonesia Post – The United Nations Office for Human Rights on Wednesday (2/3) confirmed that as many as 227 civilians were killed and 525 injured in Ukraine as of March 1 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In Washington, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Russia’s strikes were destroying non-military targets, but did not directly accuse Moscow of deliberately targeting civilians.
“We are closely monitoring what is happening in Ukraine right now, including what is happening to civilians. We are considering that, we are documenting it and we want to make sure, for one thing, that there is accountability for it (all),” Blinken told reporters.
The United Nations Office for Human Rights said in a statement that most of the casualties were caused by the use of explosive weapons, “including the shelling of heavy artillery and multiple rocket launcher systems as well as air strikes. As a result, the affected area has expanded.
It said it believed that the actual death toll in the conflict between the two countries was “much higher”, especially in government-controlled areas, as reports in some areas of heavy fighting were delayed.
The Russian invasion has not achieved President Vladimir Putin’s goal of overthrowing the Ukrainian government.
However, the invasion has sent more than 870,000 people fleeing to neighboring countries and rattled the global economy as countries and companies lined up to isolate Moscow. (ojn/bbs)
Comment