OSCE: Russia committed human rights abuses in Ukraine invasion

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) found in a report published on Wednesday "clear patterns" of violations of international humanitarian law by Russian forces in Ukraine.

The OSCE revealed in its study that there is "credible evidence" of violations in Ukraine, "including of the most fundamental human rights [right to life, prohibition of torture and other treatment, inhuman and degrading punishment], mainly in areas under Russia's effective control or in entities under Russia's overall control."

Given the timing and scope of the OSCE mission to conduct the report, it was not possible to identify specific war crimes. However, violations of international humanitarian law by the Kremlin were detected, CNN reported.

The 110-page document, presented at the OSCE Permanent Council meeting, details the damage and destruction of homes, hospitals, schools, water stations, and other infrastructure.

The report includes the account of a Ukrainian interpreter who was "held captive for nine days" by Russian forces. He was left in a freezing basement, repeatedly beaten with an iron bar and rifle butts, tortured with electricity, deprived of food for 48 hours, and subjected to a mock execution.

Similarly, the report mentions the testimony of a woman who was raped several times "in the presence of her young son" by a "drunk Russian soldier" who killed her husband.

"There are allegations of violations, including gang rapes, committed by Russian soldiers in many other regions of Ukraine," the OSCE report says. "This attack constitutes a clear violation [of international humanitarian law]," the report adds. 

"While it may be that the defender may have used a hospital for military purposes or destroyed it by mistake, it is almost impossible for this to be the case when 50 hospitals are destroyed," the European organization's report continued.

The report was carried out within the framework of the so-called Moscow Mechanism of the OSCE, which allows for the establishment of a team of experts to help solve the problems of an OSCE member state, reported Infobae.

According to experts, Russia refused to contribute to the report, considering the mechanism "largely obsolete and redundant."