In Sumy region, Russian occupants hide behind a human shield from the locals

As a result of the Russian military invasion, some settlements in Ukraine have been under occupation and on the verge of survival for three weeks now. In the occupied cities, Russian criminals torture, rob, kill and rape local residents. In Trostyanets, Sumy region, civilians are forced to sit at night on the streets near the equipment of the “Ruscist” army as a human shield. 

Lyudmila Denisova, Parliamentary Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, unvealed the horrific atrocities of Russian terrorists. 

According to her, Trostyanets has been occupied inside and completely surrounded from the outside. Enemy’s checkpoints are located on the perimeter of the city, and crossing them is a great risk to life. 

  • The occupants installed artillery units near the central railway station, placed other equipment in the city near administrative buildings, shops, and residential buildings, realizing that there would be no adequate response from the Armed Forces of Ukraine in this location. 
  • Fearing air strikes and Ukrainian artillery, the occupants are forcing civilians to sit in the streets at night near “Ruscist” military equipment as human shields. 
  • In the city, the occupants are killing civilians and destroying civilian infrastructure, and do mass looting. 
  • The invaders killed the head of the street committee, Hanna Samoilova, and for several days snipers fired on the street, preventing residents from taking the body for burial. The other day, a guy who was returning home in the evening was shot dead on the street. The head of the agricultural enterprise, who was driving to work in the morning, was shot dead. 
  • A grenade was thrown at people on one of the streets. Explosion killed two men. 
  • Three days ago, “Ruscist” militants fired on a local hospital, which was almost completely destroyed. 
  • Yesterday, heavy artillery fired on residential buildings. The occupants actually destroyed several houses and killed three pensioners who lived there. Several apartment buildings and a shop were damaged. 
  • The occupiers resorted to mass looting: all shops, ATMs, pharmacies in the city were devastated. They are actively looting local houses, stealing cars, entering apartments, where they take things, jewelry and food. If there are no people at home, they stay there overnight. 

“The torture of civilians by Russian militants is nothing but the genocide of the Ukrainian people, in accordance with the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. I appeal to the International Committee of the Red Cross to take all possible measures to open safe humanitarian corridors in Ukraine for the evacuation of civilians from areas of active hostilities and occupation. I ask NATO member states to close the skies over Ukraine!”, wrote Lyudmila Denisova, Parliamentary Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, on her Facebook page.