The United States ambassador to the UN, Bathsheba Nell Crocker, has said that Russia aims to kill or send to camps, gays, ethnic minorities and political opponents if it invades
Image: REUTERS)
Russia aims to kill or send to camps gays, ethnic minorities and political opponents if it invades the United States have warned the UN, it is reported.
The United States’ ambassador wrote to the UN saying that “vulnerable populations” in Ukraine would be targeted and warned of large-scale “human rights violations and abuses”.
Bathsheba Nell Crocker letter to the UN came before Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the deployment of troops to two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine after recognizing them as independent on Monday, accelerating a crisis the West fears could unleash a major war.
Unusually large columns of military hardware has been seen moving through the breakaway city of Donetsk after Putin told Russia’s defense ministry to send forces into the two regions to “keep the peace” in a decree issued shortly after announcing recognition for Russian-backed separatists there.
There was no word on the size of the force Putin was dispatching, but the decree said Russia now had the right to build military bases in the breakaway regions and that the troops’ mission would be a peacekeeping operation.
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Image:
U.S. Dept. of State)
In a lengthy televised address packed with grievances against the West, Putin, looking visibly angry, described Ukraine as an integral part of Russia’s history and said eastern Ukraine was ancient Russian lands and that he was confident the Russian people would support his decision.
Ms Crocker told in a letter to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, seen by news outlet NBCthat Russia had plans to kill gays and political opponents.
It stated: “We have credible information that indicates Russian forces are creating lists of identified Ukrainians to be killed or sent to camps following a military occupation.”
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Image:
Daily Mirror/Andy Stenning)
It continued that Russia would “likely target those who oppose Russian actions, including Russian and Belarusian dissidents in exile in Ukraine, journalists and anti-corruption activists, and vulnerable populations such as religious and ethnic minorities and LGBTQI+ persons.”
She emphasized in the letter that Russia would stamp down on any political opponents in Ukraine and that there was credible evidence to believe that the army would use “lethal measures to disperse peaceful protests”.
But Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied the claim that vulnerable groups would be targeted.
“That is a lie. This is absolute fiction, there is no such list, it is fake,” he reportedly said.
“You see, the president himself doesn’t pay attention to this, but in general, such statements are clearly a certain element of provocative nature. The point is that this directly leads to higher tension. So all this can have harmful effects, I mean this daily practice of announcing the date of Russian invasion of Ukraine.”
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