Thread by @OPokalchuk

.@amnesty qualifies Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a manifest violation of the United Nations Charter and an act of aggression that is a crime under international law.

Our statement 👇
amnesty.org/en/latest/news…

All those involved in this crime of aggression should be held accountable for those violations. Their personal, individual, and collective liability should be invoked for that, and for all the many crimes that have characterised their invasion of Ukraine thus far.

Russia is invading into the heart of Ukraine, seeking to depose its lawfully elected government, with a real and potential massive impact on civilians’ lives, safety and well-being; its acts cannot remotely be justified on any of the grounds that Russia has offered.

Russia is in clear breach of its international obligations. Its actions are blatantly against the rules and principles on which the United Nations was founded. All members of the United Nations should condemn that conduct unequivocally.

Since the Russia invasion began on 24 February, Amnesty has been documenting the escalation in violations of humanitarian and human rights law, including deaths of civilians resulting from indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas and infrastructure.

Strikes on protected objects such as hospitals and schools, the use of indiscriminate weapons such as ballistic missiles and the use of banned weapons such as cluster bombs, may all qualify as war crimes.

We urge UN Member States to stand together in condemnation of Russia’s crimes of aggression, in providing relief and assistance to the citizens of Ukraine including those fleeing the conflict.

We are also urging them to ensure the consequences of Russia’s aggression are not allowed to push the world closer towards an abyss of violence, violations and insecurity.