Volker Türk issued a statement expressing shock on the assault, which occurred on Friday night in a residential space.
A workforce from the UN Human Rights Workplace in Ukraine visited the impression website the next day, documented the injury, and established the names and id of the youngsters who had been killed.
‘An unimaginable horror’
The incident is the deadliest single strike harming kids which the Workplace has verified because the begin of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
“It’s an unimaginable horror — 9 kids killed, most whereas taking part in in a park, as a navy weapon exploded into shrapnel above them,” stated Mr. Türk.
He added that “the usage of an explosive weapon with extensive space results by the Russian Federation in a densely populated space —and with none obvious navy presence — demonstrates a reckless disregard for civilian life.”
Documenting the aftermath
The assault befell simply earlier than 7 PM on Friday, native time. The missile detonated over a residential space with a playground, restaurant and multi-storey buildings.
Eighteen individuals had been killed, together with 9 kids, and 75 had been wounded, together with 12 kids, in line with native authorities. Lots of the casualties occurred within the playground.
The UN Human Rights Workplace verified most of the casualties, together with every of the youngsters killed, and continues to gather data to confirm the remaining instances.
The workforce additionally documented injury from lots of of items of shrapnel to buildings, playground swings and slides, timber, and on the bottom.
The assertion famous that whereas Russian authorities claimed a navy group was focused, native residents, a enterprise affiliation consultant and workers of the restaurant advised UN Human Rights that dozens {of professional} ladies and men within the magnificence sector had been attending an business discussion board hosted by the native enterprise affiliation within the restaurant, shortly earlier than the assault.
The occasion was publicized on-line effectively upfront, and all witnesses conveyed that there had been no navy presence on the restaurant or within the space on the time of the strike.
Uphold humanitarian legislation
“Worldwide humanitarian legislation requires events to a battle to make use of means or strategies of fight that within the prevailing circumstances usually are not prone to strike navy and civilians with out distinction,” stated Mr. Türk.
“It additionally requires the events to take all possible precautions to reduce hurt to civilians, together with by verifying that the objects focused usually are not civilian however navy goals, and selecting ways and weapons that might keep away from or on the very least decrease incidental lack of civilian life.”
The assertion famous that even when the Russian authorities had data that navy personnel might be current, the mode and circumstances of assault might represent an indiscriminate assault.
Indiscriminate assaults are prohibited below worldwide humanitarian legislation, and in the event that they quantity to assaults directed towards civilians might represent struggle crimes, Mr. Türk added.
The UN rights chief known as for a immediate, thorough and impartial investigation into the assault.
