London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Oct 17, 2025

United Nations Starts Probe Into Russian Abuses In Ukraine

United Nations Starts Probe Into Russian Abuses In Ukraine

The United Nations Human Rights Council voted 33-2 to create an investigation into alleged violations, to hold the perpetrators to account.

The United Nations Human Rights Council voted overwhelmingly Thursday to launch an inquiry into alleged serious violations committed by Russian troops in Ukraine, putting their conduct further under the microscope.

Concerned by extrajudicial executions, civilian casualties, the use of torture and abuses against children, the council voted 33-2 to create an investigation into alleged violations, with a view to holding the perpetrators to account.

China and Eritrea voted against the resolution, while 12 countries including India, Pakistan and Cuba abstained. Russia branded the extraordinary meeting of the UN's top rights body a politicised stunt and refused to attend.

Telling the council that an 11-year-old boy, now traumatised, had been raped in front of his mother, Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova said Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces were inflicting "pure evil".

Russia was committing "the most gruesome human rights violations on the European continent in decades", she said, speaking from Kyiv.

"These have been 10 weeks of sheer horror to the people of my country.

"Torture and enforced disappearances, sexual and gender-based violence; the list of Russia's crimes is endless.

"Only the world standing strong in solidarity with the Ukrainian people can defeat this pure evil."

March deadline


Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, triggering global condemnation and increasing international isolation for Moscow.

The UN's top rights body voted on March 4 to trigger a commission of inquiry (COI) -- the highest-possible level of investigation -- into alleged Russian violations during the war.

The suburb of Bucha, north of Kyiv, became synonymous with allegations of Russian war crimes when dozens of bodies in civilian clothing were found there in early April, some with their hands tied, after Moscow's troops pulled back.

Other allegations have come to light elsewhere in the country.

Thursday's resolution asked the COI to prioritise an investigation "to address the events in the areas of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Sumy regions in late February and March... with a view to holding those responsible to account".

The resolution asks the COI to brief the council about its progress at the September regular session, and to include the complete findings in its report to the March 2023 session.

The resolution also urges Moscow to give humanitarians unhindered access to people transferred to Russia or Russian-held territory -- and provide a comprehensive list of their names and whereabouts.

Russia's Chair Empty


Russia was among the 47 Human Rights Council members until the UN General Assembly in New York voted on April 7 to suspend it from the body.

Russia then immediately withdrew from the council.

Thursday's session was the first meeting of the body since then.

Now an ordinary observer, Russia was called to give its version of events but its chair was vacant.

Russian ambassador Gennady Gatilov said his country would not participate in a "political rout to demonise Russia" and branded the council biased.

"It is doubtful that the participants of this stunt will call for a real, instead of a showcase, investigation of the tragedy in Bucha," he said in a Twitter video.

UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet told the council that her office was verifying allegations of international human rights and humanitarian law violations, "many of which may amount to war crimes".

"The scale of unlawful killings, including indicia of summary executions in areas to the north of Kyiv, is shocking," she said, citing 300 deaths so far -- many of them seemingly intentional.

US ambassador Michele Taylor said that Russia's frustrations at being unable to defeat Ukraine militarily had led to "ever-more-egregious human rights abuses".

France's ambassador Jerome Bonnafont, speaking for the European Union, said: "The high numbers of brutal killings of civilians, the documented cases of repeated rapes, summary executions and enforced disappearances... show the true face of Russia's brutal war."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
French Political Turmoil Elevates Marine Le Pen as Rassemblement National Poised for Power
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
×