Thread by @astroehlein

It’s nearly a year since Putin launched his brutal full-scale invasion of #Ukraine.

Throughout this time, Russian forces have been committing widespread atrocities.

There must be justice.

A long, slow 🧵 on what Human Rights Watch has worked on & documented so far…

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Russian war crimes began literally from day one of Putin’s renewed invasion. @hrw documented the use of cluster munitions that hit a hospital and a preschool on February 24.
hrw.org/news/2022/02/2…
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By the end of the first week of Putin’s renewed invasion, over a million people had fled their homes, many seeking refuge outside #Ukraine, many to Poland, where we followed their stories: hrw.org/news/2022/02/2…
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We appealed to the EU & other governments to keep the borders open for people fleeing Ukraine hrw.org/news/2022/03/0…
and provide sanctuary hrw.org/news/2022/03/0…
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But not all people trying to exit Ukraine were treated equally, particularly foreigners: hrw.org/news/2022/03/0…
The EU welcomed Ukrainians – thankfully – but this contrasted sharply with inhumane EU responses to refugees fleeing other conflicts: hrw.org/news/2022/03/0…
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Meanwhile inside #Russia, censorship reached new heights with the beginning of Putin’s renewed invasion: hrw.org/news/2022/03/0…

Teachers were instructed to spread disinformation: hrw.org/news/2022/03/0…

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As Russian atrocities mounted, the international community came together quickly, and 38 governments asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor to open an investigation in #Ukraine: hrw.org/news/2022/03/0…
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(Ukraine is not a member of the ICC, but it accepted the court’s jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed on its territory since November 2013 – that is, since before Putin’s first invasion of Ukraine – and in doing so, the obligation to cooperate with the court.)

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In March, Russian forces committed a litany of atrocities during their occupation of #Bucha, #Ukraine. @hrw documented:

⚠️ summary executions

⚠️ enforced disappearances

⚠️ torture

In other words: war crimes & potential crimes against humanity. hrw.org/news/2022/04/2…
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The firsthand witness testimonies we gathered in Bucha detailed the Russian atrocities: hrw.org/news/2022/03/3…

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We documented how Russian forces launched cluster munitions into Kharkiv neighborhoods – indiscriminate attacks that likely amount to war crimes: hrw.org/news/2022/03/0…

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We also called for safe evacuation of people with disabilities while Kharkiv was under Russia’s murderous shelling:
hrw.org/news/2022/03/0…

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In the meantime, back in #Russia, the situation for people and organizations opposing Putin's war got worse every day: hrw.org/news/2022/03/0…

Thousands of protesters were arrested, many were tortured: hrw.org/news/2022/03/0…

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In March, Russia’s assault trapped more than 200,000 civilians in #Mariupol, #Ukraine - a humanitarian crisis: hrw.org/news/2022/03/0…

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We documented Russian forces' continuous shelling of an evacuation road in northern #Ukraine in March, killing fleeing civilians: hrw.org/news/2022/03/0…
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With millions forced to flee #Ukraine following Putin’s brutal invasion, we sought to help refugee children get access to Ukrainian-language education online:
hrw.org/news/2022/03/1…

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In the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv, Russia bombed a residential area, leaving dozens killed & wounded - documented here: hrw.org/news/2022/03/1…

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Another atrocity - a particularly horrific one - was Russia’s attack on the Mariupol theater on March 16.

Hundreds of civilians were sheltered inside, and the location was clearly marked "children."

Russia bombed it anyway.
hrw.org/news/2022/03/1…

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Russian forces repeatedly fired cluster munition rockets into the densely populated city of Mykolaiv, in southern #Ukraine, during separate attacks in March: hrw.org/news/2022/03/1…

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In the first 11 days of the war, over 450 civilians were reportedly killed or injured in Kharkiv, #Ukraine’s second largest city, as a result of Russian airstrikes and artillery shelling of populated areas: hrw.org/news/2022/03/1…

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We also documented the Russian invasion’s global impact, including exacerbating a food crisis in the Middle East & North Africa:
hrw.org/news/2022/03/2…

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We gathered testimonies from Mariupol residents that described the harsh conditions while under Russian assault: hrw.org/news/2022/03/2…

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We exposed how Russian forces in #Ukraine used banned antipersonnel mines in the eastern Kharkiv region: hrw.org/news/2022/03/2…

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We also reminded all parties of their obligations for the protection of prisoners of war.

Ukraine: hrw.org/news/2022/03/3…

And Russia: hrw.org/news/2022/04/2…

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We documented Russian atrocities against civilians in Chernihiv, Kharkiv, and Kyiv regions of #Ukraine under Russian occupation...
hrw.org/news/2022/04/0…

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Here, Russian crimes we investigated included a case of repeated rape; two cases of summary execution; and other cases of unlawful violence and threats against civilians between February 27 and March 14.

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Russian soldiers were also implicated in looting civilian property, including food, clothing, and firewood.

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While much of the world was taking Russia’s atrocities in #Ukraine seriously, some countries preferred to cozy up to the perpetrators.

We called out, South Africa, for example: hrw.org/news/2022/04/2…

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I’m 29 tweets in, and I’m still only in April… More to come soon…

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During his visit to Moscow in April, we asked UN Secretary-General Guterres to press Russia to allow aid and routes out of Mariupol to #Ukraine-controlled areas:
hrw.org/news/2022/04/2…

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Our constant theme has been justice.

In April, for example, we called on the UN Security Council to use a special session to highlight the importance of impartial justice & coordination of a wide range of international accountability efforts:

hrw.org/news/2022/04/2…

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Also in April, we looked specifically at top-level responsibility and how to build a war-crimes case against Putin:
hrw.org/news/2022/04/2…

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Russia’s invasion of #Ukraine worsened the food security crisis in many African countries, given their reliance on one or both countries for a significant percentage of wheat, fertilizer, or vegetable oils imports: hrw.org/news/2022/04/2…

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Russian assaults continued in #Mariupol, described as “hell on earth”: hrw.org/news/2022/04/2…

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We noted Russia’s assault on Mariupol relied on tactics resulting in indiscriminate & disproportionate civilian suffering & loss of life.

Also, some civilians were forcibly transferred to Russia or Russian-occupied areas.

Both are unlawful.

hrw.org/news/2022/06/1…

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By May 2022, more than 3 million refugees fleeing the war in #Ukraine had arrived in Poland, where particularly women & girls were at heightened risk of gender-based violence, trafficking & other exploitation.
hrw.org/news/2022/04/2…

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We documented how, on repeated occasions, Russian soldiers at checkpoints opened fire on passing vehicles without any apparent effort to verify whether the occupants were civilians.
hrw.org/news/2022/05/0…

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In May, we reported how Russian forces controlling much of the Kyiv & Chernihiv regions in northeastern #Ukraine from late February through March subjected civilians to summary executions, torture and other grave abuses (ie, yet more war crimes).
hrw.org/news/2022/05/1…

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In #Moldova, Roma families fleeing Ukraine faced discrimination.

This from May: hrw.org/news/2022/05/2…

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We reported on Russian strikes that killed scores of civilians in Chernihiv and urged warring parties to fulfil their obligation to minimize civilian harm.
hrw.org/news/2022/06/1…

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If you feel overwhelmed by the number of crimes – and this thread, while long, is only reporting a fraction of them – you should read one person’s story.

Here is that of schoolteacher Viktoria Andrusha, forcibly disappeared by Russian forces: hrw.org/news/2022/06/1…

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In June, we documented how Russian forces are using landmines (including antipersonnel mines) in #Ukraine that are causing civilian casualties and suffering, as well as disrupting food production:
hrw.org/news/2022/06/1…

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On a positive note, Ukraine's parliament approved ratification of the #IstanbulConvention in June, an important step in combating violence against women and girls: hrw.org/news/2022/06/2…

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Another grim missile attack by Russian forces in #Ukraine, this time on a shopping center in Kremenchuk, in June.

The attack killed at least 18 civilians, according to local authorities, and wounded dozens of others:
hrw.org/news/2022/06/3…

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Russian forces in #Ukraine forcibly disappeared civilians and illegally transferred them to Russia.

This from July: hrw.org/news/2022/07/1…

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Russian violations committed against these detainees include possible unlawful confinement and hostage-taking, unlawful transfer or deportation, and enforced disappearances, which may amount to or involve multiple war crimes.

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Also in July, @hrw reported that Russian forces tortured, unlawfully detained & forcibly disappeared civilians in the areas of Kherson & Zaporizhzhia (again, all war crimes):
hrw.org/news/2022/07/2…

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In August, we reported how Russian forces assaulted Kharkiv, #Ukraine’s second-largest city, with repeated unlawful attacks that killed & wounded civilians, damaged healthcare facilities and homes:
hrw.org/news/2022/08/1…

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Again, sometimes it’s the individual testimonies and details that affect you more than the numbers and data...

https://twitter.com/astroehlein/status/1559525042324635649

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In August, the annual Cluster Munition Monitor 2022 reported Russian forces’ repeated use of cluster munitions causing predictable & lasting harm to hundreds of Ukrainian civilians:
hrw.org/news/2022/08/2…

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In September, we investigated Russian & Russian-affiliated forces' forcibly transferring Ukrainian civilians, including those fleeing, to the Russian Federation or areas of #Ukraine occupied by Russia:
hrw.org/news/2022/09/0…

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These Russian transfers of civilians are a serious violation of the laws of war that constitute war crimes and potential crimes against humanity.

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For a closer look at this particular set of Russian crimes, read this witness piece:
hrw.org/news/2022/09/0…

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In his imperialist madness, Putin attempted a sham vote in Russian-occupied regions of #Ukraine. We called out this "voting at gunpoint”:
hrw.org/news/2022/09/3…
and “shamexation”: hrw.org/the-day-in-hum…

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In October, @hrw confirmed that Russian-affiliated forces unlawfully detained and apparently killed at least three civilian men, then dumped their bodies in a forest, during Russia’s partial occupation of #Ukraine’s Kharkiv region:
hrw.org/news/2022/10/0…

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Also in October, we reported how Russian forces and others operating under their command routinely tortured detainees during their six-month occupation of Izium, #Ukraine: beatings, electric shocks, waterboarding…
hrw.org/news/2022/10/1…

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And speaking of torture....

Back in Russian, police are torturing those standing up against the war: hrw.org/news/2022/10/2…

They also hunt down draft evaders using facial recognition: hrw.org/news/2022/10/2…

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We’ve also pointed out how Russian’s targeting of #Ukraine’s energy infrastructure appears primarily designed to instil terror among the population – yet another Russian move in violation of the laws of war...
hrw.org/news/2022/12/0…

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Taking a pause… More to come…

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Someone pointed out a bad link in tweet 23. Here it is again with the proper link:

We exposed how Russian forces in #Ukraine used banned antipersonnel mines in the eastern Kharkiv region: hrw.org/news/2022/03/2…

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In December, @hrw reported that Russian forces apparently used cluster munitions on civilian populated areas of Kherson, #Ukraine, at least three times since they retreated from the city:
hrw.org/news/2022/12/1…

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We’ve documented how Russian forces & civilians operating under their orders pillaged thousands of valuable artifacts and artworks from two museums, a cathedral, and a national archive in Kherson, #Ukraine.
hrw.org/news/2022/12/2…

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International humanitarian law prohibits pillage, also sometimes referred to as looting, plunder, sacking, or spoliation.

Pillage is the unlawful appropriation of any property during an armed conflict against the will of the rightful owner and is a war crime.

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And it wasn’t just in Kherson. Since the renewal of Putin’s invasion, Russian forces have looted cultural institutions in many parts of #Ukraine, stealing countless artifacts.

And again, pillage is a war crime.

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Today, we’re calling on Ukraine to investigate its military’s apparent use of rocket-fired antipersonnel landmines in and around the city of Izium when Russian forces occupied the area.

Our new research focuses on harm to civilians:
hrw.org/news/2023/01/3…

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We hope Ukraine will investigate this & not dismiss it as Russia did when we exposed their use of antipersonnel mines in different parts of Ukraine in 3 reports & dozens more on Russian atrocities:
hrw.org/news/2022/06/1…
hrw.org/news/2022/03/2…
hrw.org/news/2022/11/1…

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As part of our work on #Ukraine over the past year (for 8 years, in fact, since Russia first invaded), we've also been providing detailed explanations of more technical matters, for example this Q&A on the international laws governing armed conflict: hrw.org/news/2022/02/2…
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We’ve also published detailed work on types of arms:

Incendiary weapons: hrw.org/news/2022/03/1…

Explosive weapons: hrw.org/news/2022/06/1…

Cluster munitions: hrw.org/report/2022/05…

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We also published this backgrounder on “enhanced blast weapons” in Ukraine. (The terms “thermobaric,” “fuel-air explosive,” and “vacuum bomb” are all used to describe this class of weapons.)
hrw.org/news/2022/03/0…

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Published today - Good news: US Congress Helps Boost Justice in #Ukraine

The US, which is not a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), has relaxed some restrictions to allow greater support for the ICC.
hrw.org/news/2023/01/3…

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This includes allowing financial & in-kind contributions to the ICC & its Trust Fund for Victims.

The ICC can also now conduct “investigative activities” “related” to Ukraine in the US. Before it could not even interview witnesses to war crimes in Ukraine living in the US
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And the US can now assist the ICC’s Ukraine “investigations and prosecutions” – including support to victims and witnesses.

(Of course, these Ukraine-specific fixes that allow the US to advance international justice, should be expanded to all situations.)

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Good-news update to tweet 65 above:

#Ukraine’s foreign ministry has responded quickly & encouragingly to today’s @hrw report on antipersonnel landmines, promising it will be properly analyzed by the appropriate institutions:
mfa.gov.ua/news/komentar-…

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Let’s end the day there. Thread will continue tomorrow…

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