Amnesty regrets ‘distress’ caused by report rebuking Ukraine

KYIV (Reuters) – Amnesty Worldwide apologised on Sunday for “misery and anger” attributable to a report accusing Ukraine of endangering civilians which infuriated President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and triggered the resignation of its Kviy workplace head.

The rights group revealed the report on Thursday saying the presence of Ukrainian troops in residential areas heightened dangers to civilians throughout Russia’s invasion.

“Amnesty Worldwide deeply regrets the misery and anger that our press launch on the Ukrainian army’s preventing techniques has brought on,” it stated in an e mail to Reuters.

“Amnesty Worldwide’s precedence on this and in any battle is making certain that civilians are protected. Certainly, this was our sole goal when releasing this newest piece of analysis. Whereas we absolutely stand by our findings, we remorse the ache brought on.”

Zelenskiy accused the group of making an attempt to shift duty from Russian aggression, whereas Amnesty’s Ukraine head Oksana Pokalchuk stop saying the report was a propaganda present for Moscow.

Ukrainian officers say they attempt to evacuate civilians from front-line areas. Russia, which denies concentrating on civilians, has not commented on the rights report.

In its e mail on Sunday, Amnesty stated it had discovered Ukrainian forces subsequent to civilian residences in 19 cities and villages it visited, exposing them to danger of incoming Russian hearth.

“This doesn’t imply that Amnesty Worldwide holds Ukrainian forces chargeable for violations dedicated by Russian forces, nor that the Ukrainian army will not be taking enough precautions elsewhere within the nation,” it stated. 

“We should be very clear: Nothing we documented Ukrainian forces doing in any means justifies Russian violations.”

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Enhancing by Andrew Cawthorne)