The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyj sharply criticized the report published on Thursday. Amnesty is trying to shift responsibility from the Russian attackers to their victims. Amnesty Ukraine chief Oxana Pokalchuk resigned over the report. He was a propaganda gift for Moscow, she said. Government officials also stressed that they were trying to get civilians out of frontline areas. Russia, in turn, denies targeting civilians.
In its email on Sunday, Amnesty said that in 19 towns and villages visited, Ukrainian forces were found near civilians. As a result, they were exposed to the risk of Russian fire. “This does not mean that Amnesty International holds Ukrainian forces responsible for the violations committed by Russian forces, nor that the Ukrainian military is not taking proper precautions elsewhere in the country,” it said. “We have to say very clearly: Nothing we have documented in the Ukrainian armed forces in any way justifies Russian incursions.”
