United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres  at UN world head quarters in New York, NY (Credit: UN Photo)

By Gary Raynaldo       DIPLOMATIC    TIMES

UNITED  NATIONS   –   NEW   YORK  –  UN Secretary-General António Guterres is calling for an independent probe  into the killing of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, a suburb of the capital, Kyiv.  Horrific pictures emerged showing streets, buildings and yards strewn with corpses of what appeared to be multiple civilians killed at point-blank range. Some had their hands tied behind their backs, apparently executed.  Speaking Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of committing genocide in his country.   

“I am deeply shocked by the images of civilians killed in Bucha, Ukraine. It is essential that an independent investigation leads to effective accountability.”

-UN Secretary-General Guterres

UN Says 3,455 Civilians Killed in Russia-Ukraine War

The UN continues to press for an end to the war in Ukraine, which the Secretary-General has described as “unwinnable”.  The bloody conflict began on 24 February, when Russia invaded the country.  Since then, 3,455 civilian casualties have been recorded, according to the latest update from the UN human rights office, OHCHR, published on Sunday.

From 4 a.m. on 24 February 2022, when the Russian Federation’s armed attack against Ukraine started, to 24:00 midnight on 2 April 2022 (local time), the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recorded 3,455 civilian casualties in the country: 1,417 killed and 2,038 injured. This included:

• a total of 1,417 killed (293 men, 201 women, 22 girls, and 40 boys, as well as 59 children and 802 adults whose sex is yet unknown)
• a total of 2,038 injured (241 men, 187 women, 41 girls, and 38 boys, as well as 92 children and 1,439 adults whose sex is yet unknown)
  • In Donetsk and Luhansk regions: 1,504 casualties (468 killed and 1,036 injured)
    • On Government-controlled territory: 1,185 casualties (401 killed and 784 injured)
    • On territory controlled by the self-proclaimed ‘republics’: 319 casualties (67 killed and 252 injured)
  • In other regions of Ukraine (the city of Kyiv, and Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk and Zhytomyr regions), which were under Government control when casualties occurred: 1,951 casualties (949 killed and 1,002 injured)

Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, and missile and air strikes.

SOURCE:  UN