Russia is accused of using “starvation tactics” during the siege of Mariupol
Kyiv • UNN
During the 85-day siege of Mariupol, Russia used tactics of deliberate starvation that amount to war crimes, resulting in the deaths of about 22,000 civilians.
The Russian army used a “deliberate scheme” of hunger strike tactics during the 85-day siege of Mariupol in early 2022, which amounts to a war crime. The Guardian writes about this with reference to a new analysis submitted to the International Criminal Court, UNN reports .
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This report was submitted to the International Criminal Court in The Hague by Global Rights Compliance lawyers working with the Ukrainian government.
It emphasizes that Russia and its leaders intended to kill and harm a large number of civilians.
Lawyers have calculated that 22,000 people died during the encirclement and capture of Mariupol at the beginning of the great war, and a few days after the siege, civilians were left without water, gas, and electricity, and the temperature dropped below -10 C.
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Global Rights Compliance partner Catriona Murdoch noted that the purpose of the study was to “find out if there is a broader narrative” that the Russian military and its leadership deliberately denied food and other necessities of life - a strategy of starvation that could amount to a war crime.
She noted that the lawyers drew attention to four phases of the Russian attack:
- attack on civilian infrastructure;
- interruption of electricity, heating and water supply;
- denial of humanitarian evacuation;
- attacks while help could not arrive.
According to her, the phased shelling of Mariupol demonstrated that Russia planned to capture the city without sparing civilians, estimated to be 450,000 people by February 24, 2022.
The report concludes that approximately 90% of healthcare facilities and buildings in the city were destroyed or damaged during the siege, and food distribution points and humanitarian evacuation routes were bombed.
