By Anjali Sharma
UNITED NATIONS – UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine on Tuesday has said that an attack by Russia on a prison in the south-eastern Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine killed 16 prisoners and over 100 injured, violated international law
The mission reported another attack which killed 5 civilians and injured 3 in the Kharkiv region, located in eastern Ukraine.
According to authorities, Russian armed forces dropped several powerful glide bombs on Bilenkivska Penal Colony No. 99 on 28 July.
The prison is located about 25 kilometres from the frontline in the Zaporizhzhia region, they said.
According to HRMMU, all those killed were prisoners and the mission plans to visit the site as soon as possible to gather additional information.
Russia has denied responsibility for the attack, media reported.
Head of HRMMU Danielle Bell said “Prisoners are civilians, and they must be protected under international humanitarian law”.
International humanitarian law stipulates that attacks must only be directed at military objectives not at civilians or civilian objects, she said.
She added that since a prison is a civilian object, it should not be attacked unless it is being used for military purposes.
Russian forces hit a hospital in Kamianske, Dnipropetrovsk region, the mission said.
According to authorities the attack damaged the hospital and its maternity ward, killed 3 and injured 22.
They said that 2 of the dead were patients, including a woman who was 7 months pregnant.
The attack reportedly killed 5 civilians and injured 3 in the Kharkiv region, HMMRU added.
