(Geneva) The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry into Ukraine said on Monday that Russia's ongoing drone strikes against civilians, forcing thousands to flee Ukrainian-controlled territory, constitute a crime against humanity.
In its 17-page report submitted to the UN General Assembly on Monday (October 27), the Commission stated: "Russian authorities have taken systematic and coordinated actions to drive Ukrainian civilians from their homes through drone strikes, expulsions, and relocations."
The report said that over the past year, the Russian military has deliberately launched drone strikes against numerous civilian targets, aiming to cause harm and destruction. Targets included civilians, homes, humanitarian aid distribution points, critical energy infrastructure, and even ambulance crews and firefighters.
The report was based on interviews with 226 victims, witnesses, aid workers, and local officials, as well as several verified online videos. One woman from Kherson Oblast said she was chased by a drone while parking her car last August and was injured when the drone struck her as she fled to her garage. On the same day, her residence was attacked by two more drones, forcing her to flee her home.
According to reports, the Russian military has been conducting these short-range drone attacks across an area extending more than 300 kilometers along the right bank of the Dnieper River, far exceeding the 100-kilometer range estimated in the May report. The affected area has expanded from Kherson Oblast to encompass Dnipropetrovsk Oblast and Nikolaev Oblast.
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The Commission concluded that these attacks "were part of a coordinated policy aimed at expelling civilians from these territories, constituting crimes against humanity involving the forced removal of populations."
The report also stated that Russia committed war crimes in the expulsion and relocation of civilians in the Zaporizhzhia region. "Civilians were subjected to arrest, detention, various forms of violence, including torture, searches, and confiscation of documents and property before being transferred or expelled."
The Independent International Commission of Inquiry into Ukraine was established by the UN Human Rights Council shortly after the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian war. Russia does not recognize this commission and has repeatedly denied the deliberate attacks on civilians.
