IPHR: Artillery was used to shell Ukrainian villages from Russia

International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) human rights international organization gathered evidence proving the Russian Federation had launched artillery attacks on villages and towns in Ukraine-controlled territory in Luhansk region in the summer and autumn of 2014.

Svitlana Valko, IPHR’s Ukraine Field Mission Coordinator, announced this at today’s press conference in Kyiv, Interfax-Ukraine news agency reports.

“At least five villages in the government-controlled territory of Luhansk region were shelled from conventional and rocket artillery from the territory of the Russian Federation in the summer and autumn of 2014. In another village, the sixth, Chervona Talivka, the Russian military advanced and then retreated to the Russian Federation. As a result of the attack on two of these settlements, villages Kolisnykivka and Ocheretne there was launched an attack on civilian targets, wounding civilians. At least 29 houses were destroyed as a result of the attack of the Russian Federation,” Valko said.

She said the research had been based on the testimony of witnesses and victims, border guards, who had been serving in that region then, as well as the data collected during field observations. IPHR also used the satellite images, which had been previously studied by Bellingcat experts, and data collected by OSCE monitors.

In the report, the human rights defenders also note they established the existence of at least three camps where the Russian servicemen had located to carry out attacks on Ukraine.

“We found a number of military units, which soldiers were involved in these attacks. We have determined the direction of shelling with precision, using shells that remain in the ground, craters, satellite maps. We determined what type of weapon was used, namely, the conventional and rocket artillery. And we can say that at least these six villages were attacked from the territory of the Russian Federation,” the IPHR’s Ukraine Field Mission Coordinator informed.

Human rights activists hope that their report will help to bring to justice those who gave the criminal orders.

“We show the facts of crossing the Ukrainian border by the Russian military, i.e. the manpower, as well as helicopters and armored vehicles.  These findings support the conclusion that the hostilities can be qualified as an armed international conflict with the direct involvement of the Russian Federation in it,” Svitlana Valko said in a commentary to DW.

 She added that all the evidence would be sent to international courts to help victims of the conflict to protect their rights.