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On March 19, Erik Møse, Chair of the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, presented a report on crimes committed by the Russian military during its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The commission interviewed almost 1,800 individuals, including victims and witnesses of the violations and crimes described.
Among its key findings was the conclusion that the armed conflict has resulted in over 12,000 civilian deaths and more than 29,000 injuries among civilians in Ukraine. The report also noted that Russian forces have also detained large numbers of civilians in all occupied regions of Ukraine, targeting local officials, civil servants, journalists, and others perceived as threats to their military objectives. Many prisoners of war were also subjected to enforced disappearances.
“These crimes were carried out as part of a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population, in all provinces of Ukraine where areas came under Russian control, and in the Russian Federation,” Møse explained.
“The victims were often transferred to detention facilities in Russian-occupied areas in Ukraine or deported to the Russian Federation. In these detention facilities, they were subjected to other grave violations and crimes, including torture and sexual violence. Many persons have been missing for months, or years. Some have died. The fate and whereabouts of many remain unknown, leaving their families in agonizing uncertainty,” he added in a press release issued after the presentation to the UNHRC.
The commission concluded that the “enforced disappearances against civilians were perpetrated pursuant to a coordinated state policy and amount to crimes against humanity.”
FSB officers regularly used torture or ordered its use. “Personnel of the Federal Security Service exercised the highest authority when present in detention facilities. They committed or ordered torture during various stages of detentions, and in particular during interrogations, when some of the most brutal treatment was inflicted,” explained Vrinda Grover, another member of the commission.
Russian authorities systematically committed sexual violence as a form of torture against detainees. The majority of victims were men — but the commission has now documented new cases of rape and sexual violence, used as forms of torture against female detainees, who were subjected to humiliating and degrading treatment. “Some women were raped during interrogation as a means to coerce, intimidate or punish them; others were subjected to forced nudity in the presence of male guards. This illustrates the gendered dimension of sexual violence in detention,” Møse continued. “A victim of rape told the Commission, ‘I can’t describe all of it… Those drunk, stinking men, tearing my clothes, treating me like I was a rubber doll… It was unbearable.’”
“A civilian woman who had been raped during confinement in a detention facility held by Russian authorities, stated that she pleaded with the perpetrators, telling them she could be their mother’s age, but they dismissed her, saying, ‘B*tch, don’t even compare yourself to my mother. You are not even a human. You do not deserve to live.’
We have concluded that Russian authorities committed the war crimes of rape and sexual violence as a form of torture,” Grover concluded.
The commission also investigated the growing number of incidents involving the killing or wounding by Russian forces of Ukrainian soldiers who had been captured or were attempting to surrender — a war crime. Some soldiers reported hearing orders not to take prisoners, but to kill them instead. For instance, a Russian deserter who spoke to the commission recounted hearing a battalion commander say: “We don’t take prisoners. Those Nazis should not be taken in captivity, they should be killed.”
The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine is a United Nations-mandated body established by the UN Human Rights Council in March 2022 — shortly after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
It is tasked with gathering evidence on crimes committed in Ukraine, identifying responsible parties, and assessing whether these crimes amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide. Its findings can be used in legal proceedings and could serve as evidence for future war crimes trials — including at the International Criminal Court (ICC).