The head of the Ukrainian office of the international human rights watchdog Amnesty International, Oksana Pokalchuk, has resigned after the organization published a report claiming that Ukrainian servicemen had “turned civilian objects into military targets” while repelling the invasion of Russian troops.
In her resignation statement, Pokalchuk described the report as “one-sided”. She blamed Amnesty International for ignoring the opinion of the Ukrainian team within the report and supporting “Russian propaganda”.
“If you don’t live in a country that has been invaded by invaders who are tearing it apart, you probably don’t understand what it means to condemn an army of defenders.”
She also noted that Amnesty published the report without waiting to ascertain the position of the Ukrainian Defence Ministry.
In its report, Amnesty International claimed the Ukrainian army had military forces based next to populated areas which, it noted, put the lives of civilians living nearby at risk. The organization stated that the report was published in view of the rules of international humanitarian law that require all parties to a conflict, if possible, to avoid locating forces next to or within the civilian areas. In its statement, the organisation noted:
“Our research into Russia’s violations of the laws of war is ongoing. However, we also believe it is crucial to respond impartially. Ignoring violations committed by either side in any conflict would not be meaningful human rights reporting.”
In its official statement on the publication, Amnesty International clarified its position, emphasizing that its message does not in any way justify Russia’s violations in Ukraine. Russia is the only entity accountable for the destruction it has caused on the territory of Ukraine. Amnesty International has recorded and published numerous war crimes and violations committed by the Russian army since the beginning of the invasion and the NGO has explicitly condemned the war in Ukraine.
In response to the Centre for Strategic Communications and Information Security announcements, Amnesty International noted that all the individuals questioned for the assessment were in areas controlled by Ukraine and that the interviewees had expressed their opinions voluntarily. None of the participants were based in areas controlled by Russia or in Russian prisons or ‘filtration camps”. Moreover, the assessment posted on 4 August was carried out by the same experts who have documented Russia’s violations against civilians in Ukraine since the beginning of the war.