The Ukrainian office of the human rights organization Amnesty International responded to criticism through a report in which the Ukrainian army was accused of violating humanitarian law and creating danger for civilians by placing military bases in residential areas.
The statement said that a separate team of Amnesty Internationalʼs Crisis Response Department is engaged in fact-finding and material preparation.
"Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Ukrainian office has been advocating the investigation and helping to involve criminal investigators of other countries in the investigation of war crimes on the territory of Ukraine," said the director of the Ukrainian office, Oksana Pokalchuk.
In fact, the Ukrainian office says with this statement that it is not involved in the above-mentioned report.
The answer of the Ministry of Defense
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Maliar stated at a briefing that Amnesty Internationalʼs report does not take into account a number of factors of the war.
"The Russians use the tactics of capturing and holding settlements. While we wait for the Russian enemy in the field, the Russians will simply occupy all our houses. That is why Ukrainian cities are being strengthened and defended against the international criminal," she said.
Maliar added that the Armed Forces could place air defense systems in cities for protection, and local authorities regularly evacuate the population in case of a threat. She noted that not all peaceful residents agree to the evacuation — the authorities cannot forcibly evacuate people.
Maliar called Amnesty Internationalʼs research one-sided. According to her, it does not take into account the actions of the occupiers, which makes it impossible to draw objective conclusions. In addition to the fact that the Russian Federation ignores any customs of war, it does not allow international organizations into the occupied territories, so it is impossible to get a complete picture.
In the end, Maliar emphasized that all international organizations should demand that the Russian Federation stop the war and not force the Armed Forces to retreat.
Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov recalled the brutal treatment of the Russian occupiers and stated that it was thanks to the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Defense Forces that many Ukrainians remained alive.
"The Russians have already used all types of weapons, except nuclear, against the civilian population. The Russians commit mass murders of prisoners of war. Russians en masse rape women and children, mutilate, rob, destroy all living things. The Russians are committing the crime of genocide against the Ukrainian people. Any attempt to question the right of Ukrainians to resist genocide, to protect their families and homes, to protect their lives and the lives of their children, to resist the actions of Russia as a terrorist state, is a perversion, no matter what legal structures disguise it," the minister said.
She called the Amnesty International report a testimony of "loss of adequacy" and an attempt to destroy its own authority.