Polish parliamentarian Małgorzata Gosiewska of Poland’s Law and Justice Party published a report titled “Russian War Crimes in Eastern Ukraine in 2014.”
The document, written by the parliamentarian with the support of volunteers, exposes the actions of Russian soldiers and pro-Russian militants on the territory of eastern Ukraine in 2014. Moreover, it includes several events that occurred in Crimea and Russia, where some Ukrainian prisoners of war had been transported.
The report is compiled from over 60 interviews conducted by Polish experts with former prisoners of war. It covers such crimes as incarceration, physical and psychological torture, robberies, and murders. Some of the crimes are shockingly cruel. The document is 153 pages long.
It is noted in the report that it will form the basis for a complaint to the International Criminal Court in the Hague.
The report is available in two languages here: Polish and English.
This report describes war crimes in the meaning of international law that were committed in eastern and southern Ukraine by soldiers and officials of the Russian Federation and by the pro-Russian separatist fighters. The crimes documented herein include unlawful deprivation of freedom, physical and mental tortures, robbery and murders.
Chapters 1 through 3 are of an introductory nature. They describe the methodology used by the authors of the report and present the circumstances in which the subsequently detailed crimes were committed.
Chapter 4 includes a detailed description of the locations and types of crimes that were committed as well as the perpetrators of those crimes. The authors discuss only those crimes they were told about by the victims thereof during the field research. More than 60 interviews were gathered in the course of collecting the materials for this report. Each action described in chapter 4 is supported by a quote from the testimony of one or more victims.
Chapter 4 is divided into subchapters that correspond to each of the locations where war crimes have been committed as identified by the authors of the report. Most of those locations are in eastern Ukraine or in Crimea. One of the identified locations is in the territory of the Russian Federation where the Russian army took Ukrainian prisoners of war.
Chapter 5 is a catalogue of perpetrators of the crimes who were mentioned in the testimonies of the victims, including a short overview and references to the description of the locations where the crimes were being committed, and pictures.
The victims are not mentioned by name but assigned “C” (case) code names and numbers. Any personal data that could be used to identify the victims indirectly such as, for example, pictures, have been included only if the victim agreed to the disclosure of his or her identity and speaks freely in the media.
Based on the documentary evidence described in the report a communication will be submitted to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Objective and purpose of the report
2. Methodology of gathering information
2.1. Identifying and finding war crime victims
2.2. Interviewing victims and witnesses, collecting information
2.3. Identifying war crimes perpetrators
3. Conditions in eastern Ukraine resulting from the conflict between Ukraine and Russia
3.1. Donetsk Oblast – Donetsk People’s Republic
3.2. Mariupol and surroundings
3.3. Luhansk Oblast – the Luhansk People’s Republic
4. Venues and perpetrators mentioned in the victims’ testimonies
4.1. Antratsit, Municipal Military Command Office
4.2. Donetsk, separatists headquarters
4.3. Donetsk, building used by the GRU of the 58th Army of the Russian Federation
4.4. Donetsk, headquarters of the “Oplot” battalion of the Russian Orthodox Army
4.5. Donetsk, the “Vostok” battalion
4.6. Donetsk, the “Somalia” battalion
4.7. Donetsk, headquarters of the “Sparta” battalion
4.8. Donetsk, headquarters of the Donetsk People’s Republic and of the “Vostok” battalion
4.9. Donetsk, headquarters of the “Vostok” battalion
4.10. Horlivka, the building of the Public Prosecutor’s Office
4.11. Horlivka, people’s militia of the Donetsk People’s Republic
4.12. Horlivka, NKVD of the Donetsk People’s Republic
4.13. Kramatorsk
4.14. Luhansk, headquarters of the “Batman” Fast Response Group
4.15. Luhansk, military commanding office of the Luhansk People’s Republic
4.16. Makiivka, unit of the Don Cossacks
4.17. Makiivka, Russian Orthodox Army
4.18. Perevalsk, Cossack National Guard
4.19. Rovenky, the St. George battalion
4.20. Slavyansk, people’s militia of the Donetsk People’s Republic
4.21. Slavyansk, district police jail
4.22. Snizhne, police station
4.23. Simferopol, headquarters of the Crimean Army
4.24. Donetsk (Russia), the interrogation venue of the FSB of the Russian Federation
5. Perpetrators’ profiles
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