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UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine report distorts facts — Russian ForMin

Russia's Foreign Ministry called the mission's analysis of the tragedy non-objective

MOSCOW, December 16. /TASS/. The regular report by the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine is non-objective, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

“Unfortunately, the analysis of the tragedy in south-eastern Ukraine is non-objective,” the ministry said.

The UN report “distorts facts on the situation on the Russian-Ukrainian border and lays the blame exclusively on Donetsk and Luhansk for the violation of the truce established in compliance with the Minsk protocol of September 5”, the ministry said.

“This sounds unceremoniously amid artillery fire at civilian facilities by Ukrainian forces that killed civilians, including children,” it said.

The ministry points to the shooting of the school in Donetsk on November 5, the strikes on Gorlovka on November 14 and many other incidents. “The authors of the report conceal the facts on Ukraine’s use of cluster bombs and phosphorus ammunition, and launch rocket systems,” the ministry said.

Russia cannot agree with the assessment of the November 2 elections in Donetsk and Luhansk that strictly complied with the Minsk agreements, it said.

“Despite the fact that the report sums up the results of the Mission’s work in 2014 in some way, it ignores the existing human rights problems in Ukraine, including in the freedom of speech, the freedom of assembly, the state of ethnic and religious minorities, the stirring of hatred,” the ministry said.

However, the ministry said UN monitors “state the humanitarian catastrophe in eastern Ukraine”. “The UN negatively treats Kiev’s economic blockade on the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the removal of state institutions and the refusal to pay pensions and wages. The UN condemns many cases of violations of human rights by the Ukrainian authorities and security forces,” it said.

The report says, “Kiev’s actions in the south-east were accompanied by arbitrary detentions, forced disappearance, tortures and dishonouring treatment”. The report notes the absence of practical steps towards investigating these violations, the ministry said.

Russia supports the authors’ call for speeding up the investigation into mass graves in the Donetsk region and crimes led to killings of people on Maidan, in Odessa and Mariupol, the ministry said.

Russia expressed hope that “Kiev will follow these recommendations”. “We also hope that observers’ assessments will be more objective in the future. To this end, we recall that the Republic of Crimea is the constituent entity of the Russian Federation in compliance with the free expression by the peninsula residents. The situation in Crimea is beyond the mandate of the UN Mission in Ukraine,” the ministry said.