A UN report details systemic human rights abuses in Ukraine

WAMU 88.5

Published September 28, 2023 at 9:26 AM EDT

TOPSHOT - A woman walks past firefighters extinguishing a fire in a house that was damaged following a missile attack in a village outside Kyiv on August 30, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Anatolii STEPANOV / AFP) (Photo by ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP via Getty Images)

Russia’s war in Ukraine justentered its20thmonthand many militaryanalysts see no clear end in sight.

This week, the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine announced a new report detailing instances of rape, torture, and murder of Ukrainian civilians.

During a presentation to the Human Rights Council in Geneva, one victim who suffered torture through electric shocks said, “Every time I answered that I didn’t know or didn’t remember something, they gave me electric shocks … I don’t know how long it lasted. It felt like an eternity.”

The U.N. report comes as representatives attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York discussed solutions to the Ukraine war and the humanitarian crises it’s ballooning.

The report also comes as new funding for Ukraine is being challenged by Republican lawmakers in Congress. They’re threatening a partial government shutdown over funding for the war.

We convene a panel of experts do discuss.