MOSCOW, July 3 (RIA Novosti) - The destruction of an orphanage by the Ukrainian Army in Slaviansk is a serious violation of international law, signaling that the punitive operation should be ended, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law Konstantin Dolgov said Thursday.
“This is a very powerful signal that the violence, bloodshed and punitive operation should be ended immediately,” Dolgov said.
Russian Children’s Rights Ombudsman Pavel Astakhov said Wednesday that the Ukrainian Army destroyed an orphanage in Slaviansk.
“Petro Poroshenko’s ‘offensive and liberation’ is underway. The Ukrainian Army has destroyed pre-school orphanage №2 Topolyok in Slaviansk. Honor the heroes!” Astakhov wrote on his Instagram page.
Konstantin Dolgov said “If the facts are proven, this is a serious violation of all the norms and principles of international law and human rights”.
“Unfortunately, this is not the first case in which the civilian population, in this case children, has come under fire from the special operation,” Dolgov added.
The commissioner also referred to Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov’s words that “the delay in ending violence has only one cost, the cost of human lives.”
“The sooner the violence ends, the more lives will be saved,” Dolgov pointed out.
On Monday, the Luhansk People’s Republic’s defense forces announced the evacuation of 80 children from the baby orphanage that came under fire from the Ukrainian Army.
Kiev launched a special military operation in southeastern Ukraine in mid-April, trying to suppress independence supporters in Donbas Region, claiming hundreds of lives. Thousands of residents of the region have fled to Russia seeking asylum.
