In letter to UN rights chief, Washington says an invasion could lead to ‘kidnappings or torture’ of ‘political dissidents and religious and ethnic minorities’
https://www.timesofisrael.com-By AFP and TOI staff
This combination of pictures created on March 17, 2021, shows US President Joe Biden (L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Eric Baradat and Alexey Nikolsky/Various Sources/AFP)
The United States has warned the United Nations it has information that Russia has lists of Ukrainians “to be killed or sent to camps” in the event of an invasion, according to a letter sent to the UN rights chief and obtained by AFP Sunday.
The letter, which came as Washington warned of an imminent invasion by Russian troops massed near the Ukrainian border, says the United States is “deeply concerned” and warns of a potential “human rights catastrophe.”
The United States has “credible information that indicates Russian forces are creating lists of identified Ukrainians to be killed or sent to camps following a military occupation,” the letter says.
“We also have credible information that Russian forces will likely use lethal measures to disperse peaceful protests or otherwise counter peaceful exercises of perceived resistance from civilian populations,” adds the message, addressed to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet.
The note, signed by Bathsheba Nell Crocker, US ambassador to the UN in Geneva, warns that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could bring with it abuses such as kidnappings or torture, and could target political dissidents and religious and ethnic minorities, among others.
Russia has placed more than 150,000 troops near Ukraine’s borders in recent weeks, the United States and Western allies have estimated.
According to US intelligence, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday ordered his army to prepare for an invasion.
An official quoted by CBS News, however, said that the order was not final and that it could be changed at any moment.
According to sources quoted by the Daily Mail, the Russian high command was preparing battle plans.
The Mail also reported that convoys of military vehicles painted with the letter Z were seen moving toward the border with Ukraine.
The markings are suspected to have been allocated for specific roles or army groups.
Moscow denies it plans to attack its neighbor, but is seeking a guarantee that Ukraine will never join NATO and that the Western alliance will remove forces from Eastern Europe, demands the West has refused.