Amnesty International claims Ukrainian forces were deliberately putting civilians in harm's way during their war against Russia by establishing bases and weapon systems in populated areas like schools and hospitals..“We have documented a pattern of Ukrainian forces putting civilians at risk and violating the laws of war when they operate in populated areas,” said Agnès Callamard, secretary general of Amnesty International..“Being in a defensive position does not exempt the Ukrainian military from respecting international humanitarian law.”.Between April and July, several Amnesty International researchers investigated Russian strikes in the Kharkiv, Donbas, and Mykolaiv regions. Through interviews with civilians, they learned Ukrainian forces were launching strikes from within populated residential areas, as well as basing themselves in civilian buildings in 19 towns and villages in the regions..The researchers said in the cases they documented, the Ukrainian soldiers who lodged themselves in civilian areas did not ask or assist civilians in evacuating nearby buildings, which is a "failure to take all feasible precautions to protect civilians.".International humanitarian law requires all parties in a conflict to avoid locating military objectives within or near densely populated areas.."Other obligations to protect civilians from the effects of attacks include removing civilians from the vicinity of military objectives and giving effective warning of attacks that may affect the civilian population," Amnesty International said..Researchers witnessed Ukrainian forces use hospitals as military bases in five different locations — a violation of international humanitarian law. They also routinely set up bases in schools, and when Russian forces struck the schools, the soldiers would relocate to surrounding neighbourhoods..Amnesty International said Russian forces carried out attacks with "inherently indiscriminate weapons," including internationally banned cluster munitions. They added the Ukrainian military’s tendency to locate military objectives within populated areas "does not in any way" justify indiscriminate Russian attacks..But they said all parties to a conflict must distinguish between military objectives and civilian objects and take precautions to minimize civilian harm. .“The Ukrainian government should immediately ensure that it locates its forces away from populated areas, or should evacuate civilians from areas where the military is operating. Militaries should never use hospitals to engage in warfare, and should only use schools or civilian homes as a last resort when there are no viable alternatives,” said Callamard..A July 5 UN report from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) also claimed that the Ukrainian Army was purposefully putting civilians in harm’s way as “human shields.” It reported that in the eastern province of Lugansk, Ukrainian soldiers set up defence in care home, leading to the deaths of more than 50 elderly people..On July 10, Russia’s defense ministry also claimed to have “credible information” that Ukrainian fighters were using civilians as human shields inside the Azot chemical plant in the Donbass city of Severodonetsk.
