The UNʼs independent international commission of inquiry into crimes committed in Ukraine has concluded that the Russian army committed crimes against humanity and war crimes when it repeatedly attacked civilians on the right bank of the Dnipro River in the Kherson region.
This is stated in the commissionʼs report, which is available to Babel.
Experts have found that the main purpose of the Russian attacks was to intimidate the civilian population, which violates international humanitarian law. Russian drone operators have been systematically targeting civilians since July 2024, mainly people on the streets or in transport. Ambulances have also been hit.
The UN Commission documented drone attacks in Kherson and 16 other settlements along more than 100 kilometers of the coastal zone. Officially, almost 150 civilians were killed and hundreds more were injured.
During the investigation, the commission interviewed more than 90 residents of the Kherson region (victims and witnesses), checked the location of more than 120 videos of attacks, collected documents, and analyzed hundreds of available videos and texts.
It turned out that the Russians used conventional drones, which were converted to drop explosives, and kamikaze drones for the attacks. Videos published by Russian Telegram channels show that the drone operators deliberately chose civilians as targets.
The UN commission concluded that such targeted attacks on civilians constitute a war crime, the systematic nature of which demonstrates that the strikes were planned and organized. In this way, Russia could also have sought to force people to flee the area within the reach of Russian drones. This could be considered a forced displacement of a population.
The report also noted that the UN Commission considered Russian claims about alleged Ukrainian drone attacks on civilians in the Kherson region, but was unable to confirm this because the Russian side refused to cooperate.
An independent international UN commission ultimately stated that Russia is using terror as an element of state policy to forcibly evict the Ukrainian population and is doing nothing to stop these crimes.
The Commission recommends that Russia immediately cease attacks, hold perpetrators accountable, and that Ukraine step up assistance to victims. International partners are advised to support these efforts financially and technically.
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