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One of the independent members of the recently established U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine says investigators have found evidence of war crimes, including sexual abuse of children, during Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, with the "vast majority" of offenses having been committed by Russian troops,
Speaking in an interview with RFE/RL's Balkan Service on January 23, Jasminka Dzumhur, one of three members of the commission and Bosnia-Herzegovina's human rights ombudswoman with more than three decades of experience in the fields of the judiciary, human rights, and international relations, said there was a "very wide" range of crimes that have been uncovered in Ukraine.
"When we talk about children, they were wounded or killed by firearms. They were sexually abused. We recorded violations of the rights of children placed in homes for neglected children," Dzumhur said, adding that the commission had also received information about children being moved from Ukraine to Russia even though "in many cases" their biological parents still reside in Ukraine.
The European Union and human rights groups have accused Russia of human rights violations on the territory of Ukraine, including torture, abuse, rape, and other forms of violence as well as attacks on civilian and energy infrastructure since the Kremlin launched its unprovoked invasion in February 2022.
Associated Press video journalist Mstyslav Chernov had just broken out of Mariupol after covering the first 20 days of the Russian invasion of the Ukrainian city and was feeling guilty about leaving. He and his colleagues, photographer Evgeniy Maloletka and producer Vasilisa Stepanenko, had been the last journalists there, sending crucial dispatches from a city under a full-scale assault.
The day after, a theater with hundreds of people sheltering inside was bombed and he knew no one was there to document it. That’s when Chernov decided he wanted to do something bigger. He’d filmed some 30 hours of footage over his days in Mariupol. But poor and sometimes no internet connections made it extremely difficult to export anything. All told, he estimates only about 40 minutes of that successfully made it out to the world.
“Those shots which went out were very important. They went on the AP and then to thousands of news outlets,” Chernov said. “However, I had much more. ... I thought I should do something more. I should do something more with that 30 hours of footage to tell a bigger story and more context to show the audience of the scale.”
Chernov decided then that he wanted to make a documentary. That film, “20 Days in Mariupol,” a joint project between The Associated Press and PBS “Frontline,” at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, where it is playing in competition.
After intense pressure from its allies, Germany appears to be inching toward approving deliveries of high-tech battle tanks that Ukraine and Western backers hope will boost the country's fight against Russia.
Three vessels carrying 105,500 metric tons of grain and other food products have left Ukrainian ports under the Black Sea Grain Initiative,
The ships, destined for Spain, Turkey and Djibouti, are carrying wheat and corn.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative was brokered last summer between Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the UN to ease Russia’s naval blockade of key Ukrainian ports to allow grain exports.
So far, more than 670 ships have sailed from Ukrainian ports, according to CNBC.
Kyiv's forces are taking ground around a strategic city in the eastern Luhansk region, , quoting an unnamed a senior U.S. military official. The report also said Ukraine is expected to launch a new counteroffensive this spring.
"What we're seeing is Ukrainian counteroffensive operations, again, largely fluid in that area in terms of back and forth, making some incremental gains near Kreminna," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations.
The report went on to say that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said now is the time for the West to provide additional arms and training Ukraine needs to smash through Russian lines.
"We have a window of opportunity here, you know, between now and the spring when they commence their operation, their counteroffensive," Austin said last week, announcing a $2.5 billion package of aid which includes Bradley Fighting Vehicles Stryker armored combat vehicles, mine-resistant vehicles, and Humvees, as well as additional air defenses, missiles and artillery.
Most schools and kindergartens — 86% — now have bomb shelters, .