Ukrainian Foreign Ministry hopes UN human rights organizations will assess Russian aggression

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has expressed hope that Russian aggression against Ukraine will get an assessment from UN human rights organizations.

The Foreign Ministry said this in a statement on Wednesday in connection with to a UN High Commissioner for Human Rights report on the human rights situation in Ukraine.

"The report, like the previous documents prepared by the UN monitoring mission on human rights, to a certain extent objectively assesses the overall situation in Ukraine and gives a broad picture of events. The significant amount of work carried out by the mission on collecting and analyzing the facts in the field of human rights in our country, especially in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, where Russian-backed terrorists are waging war against the Ukrainian people, deserves a positive assessment," reads the statement.

The mission noted the escalation of fighting in Donbas in the period from August 24 to September 5, the terrorization by militants of the local population, shelling of civilians, murders, and the difficult humanitarian situation in Luhansk, which is under the control of militants.

"According to the document, in clashes illegal armed groups are represented by an increasing number of foreign fighters, particularly from Russia. The self-proclaimed DPR 'premier,' Alexander Zakharchenko, is quoted as saying that 3,000-4,000 Russians are fighting on their side, including former or serving Russian soldiers, on leave from their posts. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights describes as causing particular outrage a forced 'march' of about 50 Ukrainian detainees, organized by illegal armed groups in the center of Donetsk on Ukraine's Independence Day, during which they were subjected to physical and moral humiliation," the ministry said.

The Foreign Ministry also said the report mentioned the cases of gross violations of human rights on the territory of the temporarily occupied Crimea.

However, the mission praised the level of cooperation with the Ukrainian government.

"The Ukrainian side welcomes such a position and is ready to further develop and deepen cooperation with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. We are grateful for the recommendations to improve the protection of human rights in our country, and for the readiness to contribute to their implementation," reads the statement.

"At the same time, we hope for a more complete coverage by the mission of not only internal, but also external factors that influence the development of the situation in the east of Ukraine. Russian aggression, Russian mercenaries, a dirty ideological war unleashed by Russia, blackmail and other crimes should not only be named, but also get a proper assessment from human rights organizations of the UN system," the ministry said.