MOSCOW authorities have said that they view Kiev’s shelling of a school in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk as a blatant violation of international humanitarian law.
This was the message yesterday from the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Special Representative for Human Rights, Konstantin Dolgov.
‘The particular cynicism of this shelling is the very fact that today was the children’s first day at school. And on this day, artillery directly targets them. These are blatant, intolerable things,’ Dolgov said.
He emphasised that these actions are grave violations of international humanitarian law that take place at the moment when ‘there are real prerequisites for a political settlement.’
‘Shelling is going on, despite the announced ceasefire, which is a blatant violation. Civilians are still being killed. This situation is absolutely unbearable. We insist that all crimes against civilians should be systematised and an independent international investigation should be launched,’ the special representative for human rights stated.
The Ukrainian government and independence supporters of the country’s eastern regions agreed to a ceasefire during the September 5 Contact Group meeting in Minsk. Since the establishment of the ceasefire, the opposing sides have repeatedly accused one another of violating the truce.
At least 11 people have been killed in the shelling of the school in Donetsk on Wednesday. According to the city council, 70 children were inside the building when firing started. There has been no confirmation from the Ukrainian sources yet.
‘About 40 injured have been taken to our hospital, some of them are in grave and extremely grave condition,’ a local hospital spokesman said. He added that three of the injured died on the way to hospital.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), reported that 10 people had died as a result of shelling of Donetsk. DPR Deputy Prime Minister of Andrei Purgin noted that eight people were killed when a shell hit a taxi van, where they were sitting.
Another two people died when a shell hit a school building. None of them were children. Later, Purgin said that the death toll from the shelling had risen to 11.
Purgin also noted that, despite the ceasefire agreement signed between representatives of Kiev and the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk in the Belarusian capital of Minsk on September 5, daily shooting continues in the vicinity of the Donetsk airport.
On September 27, the head of the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR), Igor Plotnitsky, said the trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine is prepared to take part in another round of talks in Minsk, though the exact date of the meeting has not been established.
A day earlier, Purgin said the DPR does not see the point of a new meeting in Minsk, until previous agreements have been completed.
• Russia said it hopes that the use of Nazi symbols by battalions of Ukraine’s National Guard will receive appropriate international assessment, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Konstantin Dolgov said on Wednesday.
‘Where is the appropriate international reaction to this action? Unfortunately, so far it’s not being observed, but we hope that it will,’ Dolgov said during a briefing.
‘Those charging into battle with Nazi and Banderov symbols need to know and understand that the international community is not on their side,’ Dolgov said.
Kiev has been denying any affiliations with neo-fascist movements despite apparent similarities between the symbols used by the Kiev-backed forces and those used by Nazi Germany during World War II.
For example, the Ukrainian National Guard’s insignia bear similarities to the swastika and the badges of the Azov Battalion, formed in May 2014 in the city of Mariupol, bear strong resemblance to the Wolfsangel rune that served as a symbol for the Waffen-SS military forces.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had said the previous Thursday that an initiative to establish a legal basis for countering Nazi ideology is well-timed.
‘I consider the initiative to define a legal basis for countering a surge of nationalism and glorification of Nazi criminals timely,’ Putin said at a meeting of the Presidential Council for Interethnic Relations.
The Russian president stressed that in some countries neo-Nazi organisations are reviving and gaining ground in politics.
According to Putin, ethnic and religious intolerance and calls for violence are turning into slogans for groups striving for power.
On May 5, Putin signed a bill introducing a punishment of up to five years in jail for the rehabilitation of Nazism, denying facts established by the Nuremberg trials and dissemination of false information about the Soviet Union’s activities during World War II.
The measure also stipulates a fine of up to 300,000 rubles ($8,400) or up to a year of community service for desecrating symbols of Russian military glory.
A bill that equates symbols of organisations that cooperated with fascists, including Bandera insignia, to Nazi symbols is currently under consideration in Russia’s parliament.
• Russia needs additional measures to boost its information security amid a surge in cyberattacks against its websites, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.
‘It is evident that today we need to prepare and implement an array of additional information security measures.
‘First of all, we need to raise the quality of protection of national communications networks and information resources, primarily those used by state structures,’ the president told the Russian Security Council.
Putin said that Russia has been ‘recording a steady growth in cyberattacks on Russian information resources.’
‘The number of these attacks has multiplied in the past six months, incomparable with levels recorded during the past year. At the same time, methods, means and tactics of such attacks have improved, and their intensity is directly linked to the current international situation,’ the president said. Putin added that Russia is doing everything to ensure uninterrupted internet access in the country.
‘I would like to stress that we are not planning to limit access to the Web, put it under total control, make it state-run or limit lawful interests of individuals, public organisations and business in the information sphere,’ the president said. ‘This is out of consideration.’
The Russian leader noted that at the same time, Russia will gradually close websites promoting violence and extremism.
‘We will be working (like all the other countries) in a consistent and strict manner, closing such websites in accordance with the law. No one should doubt that,’ Putin said, adding that young people should be protected from the risks of modern internet networks.
Putin stressed that the Russian government cannot turn a blind eye to the issues of extremist propaganda, xenophobia and religious hatred on the networks, as well as online distribution of child pornography and information on drug preparation.
