Russian forces deliberately used starvation of civilians as a military tactic during the 85-day siege of Mariupol, human rights organization Global Rights Compliance (GRC) reported.
The siege of Mariupol, a strategic port city, lasted from March to May 2022. Prior to the conflict, the city was home to nearly 430,000 residents.
Following the siege, only about 120,000 residents remained in the occupied city. Ukrainian officials report that Russian forces killed approximately 25,000 civilians, displaced hundreds of thousands, and destroyed 95% of the city’s infrastructure.
GRC report
The report from GRC highlights how Russian troops systematically targeted resources essential for civilian survival, such as food, water, energy, and healthcare.
“This pattern of conduct, the report states, leaves experts to conclude that the starvation of civilians in Mariupol City by Russian forces was intentionally used as a method of warfare,” GRC wrote on social media platform X.
Olha Matskiv, a Ukrainian legal advisor with GRC, said that starvation as a war tactic extends beyond food deprivation, encompassing heating, water, and healthcare.
“We came across some horrific cases where elderly people died in their own apartments from lack of water or because they were cold,” Matskiv said.
Trapped civilians were also forced to bury their dead by the roadside due to the intense conditions.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has jurisdiction over war crimes in Ukraine and has issued four arrest warrants related to the conflict, including one against Russian President Vladimir Putin for the deportation of Ukrainian children.
Following the siege, only about 120,000 residents remained in the occupied city. Ukrainian officials report that Russian forces killed approximately 25,000 civilians, displaced hundreds of thousands, and destroyed 95% of the city’s infrastructure.
GRC report
The report from GRC highlights how Russian troops systematically targeted resources essential for civilian survival, such as food, water, energy, and healthcare.
“This pattern of conduct, the report states, leaves experts to conclude that the starvation of civilians in Mariupol City by Russian forces was intentionally used as a method of warfare,” GRC wrote on social media platform X.
Olha Matskiv, a Ukrainian legal advisor with GRC, said that starvation as a war tactic extends beyond food deprivation, encompassing heating, water, and healthcare.
“We came across some horrific cases where elderly people died in their own apartments from lack of water or because they were cold,” Matskiv said.
Trapped civilians were also forced to bury their dead by the roadside due to the intense conditions.
Yuriy Belousov, head of the war crimes unit in Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office, confirmed that the incidents documented in the Mariupol report are part of the national prosecution’s current case files.Russian forces intentionally used the starvation of civilians in Mariupol as a method of warfare - GRC’s Starvation MJT published a new report ‘The Hope Left Us’; it gives evidence of systematic attacks by 🇷🇺 against indispensable objects.
— Global Rights Compliance (@GRC_HumanRights) June 13, 2024
Report: https://t.co/avCFZyHUUg pic.twitter.com/tQsZtBixCe
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has jurisdiction over war crimes in Ukraine and has issued four arrest warrants related to the conflict, including one against Russian President Vladimir Putin for the deportation of Ukrainian children.
Source: Reuters, en.interfax.com.ua, defense.gov, bbc.com
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