International Criminal Court (ICC) plans to demand the arrest of Russian officials for forced deportation of children from Ukraine And attack civilian infrastructureThe source said Monday, in what will be the first international war crimes case related to the invasion of Moscow.
Russia denies a deliberate attack on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and says its attacks are aimed at reducing Kyiv’s combat capability. He makes no secret of the program through which he brought thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia, but presents it as humanitarian campaign to protect orphans and abandoned children in the conflict zone.
Kiev claims that thousands of deported Ukrainian children have been adopted by Russian families, placed in Russian camps and orphanages, given Russian passports and trained to renounce Ukrainian citizenship and consider themselves Russian.
The UN Genocide Convention defines “forced transfer of children from a group to another group” as one of the five acts that can be prosecuted as genocide. Asked if the ICC’s charges against Russian officials could include genocide, the source replied, “I think so.”
On the ground, both sides described ongoing fighting in and around Bakhmut, a small, devastated town in eastern Ukraine that has become the main focus of Russia’s winter campaign.
Near Kremennaya, north of Bakhmut, r. Ukrainian soldiers they said they were fighting off intense attacks from increasingly professional soldiers, while the Russians moved heavy equipment closer to the front lines.
In the forest, about 8 kilometers from the front, guns rumbled, aiming at enemy positions in the northeast. Distant explosions constantly rumbled in the distance, indicating a heavy battle.
reporters from Reuters saw how they brought from the front soldier with a badly injured leg. He was stabilized in a van with a splint and painkillers before being taken to another medical center for treatment.
Photo: Reuters
“Two or three weeks ago the fighting was in full swing. high pointor, but they calmed down a bit,” said Mikhail Anest, a 35-year-old medic, before treating a wounded soldier. “Lots of artillery and mortar fire“. According to him, on a bad day, he could see 20 wounded soldiers from his battalion in one day. Reuters.
The battle for Bakhmut, which lasted several months, was the bloodiest infantry battle in Europe since the Second World War. Russian troops, led by Wagner’s private army, have captured the eastern part of the city, but have not yet been able to encircle it.
“All attempts by the enemy to seize the city are repelled by artillery, tanks and other firearms,” said Ukrainian Colonel General Alexander Syrsky, commander of the ground forces, who promised not to retreat, according to the Military Media Center. Report of Ukraine.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of Wagner, said on Sunday the situation was “tough, very difficult.”
Moscow says that its capture will be a great success, as it will open the way to the capture of the rest of the Donetsk region, which is the main goal of the war. Kyiv claims to have decided don’t retire because this inflicts huge losses on the Russian landing forces, which will make it easier to counterattack in the future.
As fighting intensifies in eastern Ukraine, Moscow is on the cusp of a long-awaited diplomatic breakthrough, multiple sources said. Reuters What Chinese President Xi JinpingI can visit Russia next weekan earlier response than expected to an old invitation.
President Vladimir Putin described this visit as support demonstrationbut that may be overshadowed by Xi’s plans to hold a video conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the first time since the invasion.
The plans for negotiations between Zelensky and Xi were reported by the publication Wall Street Magazine And Reuters he could not immediately confirm them.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. He Kremlin He said he didn’t have anything to announce yet. The Office of the President of Ukraine also did not immediately respond.
“As a rule, announcements of official visits abroad are coordinated simultaneously by mutual agreement of the parties,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “When there is such a situation, we will inform you.”