Ukraine war: Russia executed 77 civilians detained by its forces, UN says

The besieged port city of Mariupol in March 2022 - Russian forces took control of the city months later

Russian forces summarily executed 77 civilians they had arbitrarily detained during Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, a UN report says.

Another male detainee died from torture, inhumane conditions and denial of medical care, the report adds.

The UN documented 864 individual cases of arbitrary detention by Russia since it launched its invasion last February.

Ukraine also violated international law by detaining civilians, though on a much smaller scale, the report adds.

"We documented the summary execution of 77 civilians while they were arbitrarily detained by the Russian Federation," Maltilda Bogner, head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission told a press briefing in Geneva on Tuesday.

Some 72 of those killed were men and five were women.

Summary executions, or the immediate and deliberate killing of individuals without a fair and full trial, is a violation of human rights.

Russia denies committing atrocities or attacking civilians in Ukraine.

The mission did not document any summary executions of civilian detainees by Ukrainian forces.

Ms Bogner said there was also evidence Russian forces and law enforcement had engaged in "widespread torture and ill-treatment of civilian detainees".

"Torture was used to force victims to confess to helping Ukrainian armed forces, compel them to cooperate with the occupying authorities, or intimidate those with pro-Ukrainian views," she said.

Overall, the report documented more than 900 cases of arbitrary detention of civilians, including children and elderly people - with the "vast majority" perpetrated by Russia.

In 91% of those cases, detainees described being subjected to "torture and ill-treatment, including sexual violence" by Russian interrogators, the report said.

There were 75 cases of arbitrary detention by Ukrainian security forces, mostly of people suspected of conflict-related offences.

"We documented that over half of those arbitrarily detained were subjected to torture or ill-treatment by Ukrainian security forces," Ms Bogner said.

"This happened while people were being interrogated, usually immediately after arrest."

• What war crimes is Russia accused of?

• Collecting the dead in Bucha

The UN mission's report is the latest evidence of atrocities carried out by Russian forces in Ukraine.

In April 2022 near the beginning of the conflict, more than 400 bodies of civilians were found in Bucha, a town on the outskirts of Kyiv.

In March this year, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against President Vladimir Putin for suspected war crimes.