drones

ECHR: a decade of Russian war crimes in Ukraine

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on July 9 found that Russia has committed grave violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) in Ukraine. Judges at the ECHR rendered a series of decisions related to consolidated complaints brought by Ukraine and the Netherlands since the Ukraine conflict began in 2014. Among the named violations of IHL are the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17), multiple violations of the Geneva Conventions and other human rights treaties, application of "extremism laws" against religious communities, and interference with freedom of speech and the press.

UN condemns Russian attacks on Ukraine nuclear plant

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on July 5 strongly condemned Russia's largest yet wave of drone and missile attacks in Ukraine, especially noting strikes that disrupted the power supply to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), endangering nuclear safety. A statement issued by Guterres' office said:

UN warns of 'weaponized hunger' in Gaza

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) announced June 24 that the recent killing of Palestinians trying to receive food from aid hubs may constitute a war crime, warning of a policy of "weaponized hunger" in the Gaza Strip. Jonathan Whittall, the head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Gaza and the West Bank, reported that more than 400 people have now died in the process of trying to reach food distribution points. "We see a chilling pattern of Israeli forces opening fire on crowds gathering to get food," Whittall said, adding that "Israel's militarized humanitarian assistance mechanism is in contradiction with international standards on aid distribution."

Drone terror in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Amnesty International expressed concern June 24 over recurrent drone strikes conducted by Pakistan's military, which have caused unlawful loss of civilian lives. The rights group stated that the strikes in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have resulted in the deaths of 17 people this year, urging authorities to investigate these incidents and hold those responsible accountable.

Fighting threatens indigenous civilians in West Papua

Escalating violence in Indonesia's West Papua region is threatening the security of the largely indigenous population amid intensified clashes between Indonesian security forces and separatist rebels, Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned May 29. Military operations in the densely forested Central Highlands have resulted in the deaths and injuries of dozens of civilians due to drone strikes and the indiscriminate use of explosive munitions, forcing thousands of indigenous Papuans to flee their homes.

Operation Spiderweb: Russia responds with nuclear threats —of course

In a June 1 covert operation dubbed "Spiderweb," the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) destroyed or damaged 41 Russian warplanes at four air-bases across the Russian Federation—Belaya (Irkutsk oblast, Siberia), Olenya (Murmansk oblast, in the Arctic), Dyagilevo (Ryazan oblast, near Moscow) and Ivanovo (in the eponymous oblast, also near Moscow). Kyiv claims it has disabled 34% of Russia's strategic bomber fleet in the operation, carried out with over 100 drones launched from trucks hidden across Russian territory. While the Kremlin's top officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have not commented on the Ukrainian operation at all, Russian pro-war propagandists are calling it "Russia's Pearl Harbor," and demanding vengeance. Prominent state TV personality Vladimir Solovyov said on his program that the Ukrainian operation is "grounds for a nuclear attack," and called for retaliatory strikes on the Ukrainian president's office in Kyiv and airfields in NATO members Poland and Romania allegedly used by Ukrainian aircraft. (Kyiv Independent)

UN inquiry sees Russian 'crimes against humanity' in Ukraine —again

The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine published a report May 28 declaring Russian drone attacks on Ukrainian civilians in Kherson oblast to be war crimes and crimes against humanity. The commission found that roughly 150 Ukrainian civilians have been killed over the past year as a result of the systematic Russian drone attacks:

Russia: anarchist war saboteurs on trial

A Russian military court in Yekaterinburg on May 20 sentenced 27-year-old anarchist Alexey Rozhkov to 16 years in prison for what prosecutors classified as a "terrorist act"—throwing Molotov cocktails at a military recruitment office in March 2022, causing minor damage. The incident, which occurred shortly after the start Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, was one of the earliest in a brief string of such actions across Russia in protest against the war.

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