Mon 21 February 2022:
According to a letter sent to the UN rights chief and obtained by AFP on Sunday, the US has informed the UN that Russia has lists of Ukrainians “to be killed or sent to camps” in the event of an invasion.
The letter, which came as Washington warned of an impending invasion by Russian troops massed near the Ukrainian border, expresses “deep concern” and warns of a potential “human rights catastrophe.”
The United States has “credible information that indicates Russian forces are creating lists of identified Ukrainians to be killed or sent to camps following a military occupation,” the letter says.
“We also have credible information that Russian forces will likely use lethal measures to disperse peaceful protests or otherwise counter peaceful exercises of perceived resistance from civilian populations,” says the message, addressed to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet.
The memo, written by US Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva Bathsheba Nell Crocker, warns that a Russian invasion of Ukraine might result in abuses such as kidnappings and torture, as well as targeting political dissidents, religious and ethnic minorities, among others.
Biden, Putin agree ‘in principle’ to summit
United States President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed in principle to a summit over the Ukraine crisis, the office of French President Emmanuel Macron said, so long as Moscow does not invade Ukraine.
In a statement released early on Monday, the Elysee Palace said Macron had pitched both leaders on a summit about “security and strategic stability in Europe”.
“Presidents Biden and Putin have both accepted the principle of such a summit,” the statement said, stressing that such a meeting would be impossible if Russia invaded Ukraine as Western nations fear is its intention.
The White House later confirmed the planned summit.
Sharp increase in fighting
There has also been a sharp increase in fighting across the line dividing Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian government forces in eastern Ukraine since Thursday. On Monday, an explosion was heard in the centre of Donetsk, with Russia’s RIA news agency quoting rebels saying that two civilians had been killed in shelling by Ukrainian government forces.
Russia has accused Ukraine of attacking its territory, and separatist leaders have since called for a mass evacuation of civilians to Russia and declared a full military mobilisation.
US and Ukrainian officials say attacks have been staged as a pretext for a Russian invasion.
Moscow has said it has no plans to invade the country, but the situation is causing increased unease among Russia’s neighbours in Eastern Europe.
Russia has placed more than 150,000 troops near Ukraine’s borders in recent weeks, the United States and Western allies have estimated.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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