Tens of thousands of civilians are feared dead in Russia’s barbaric siege of Mariupol. Such a statement made the US Ambassador to OSCE in his opening statement House Committee on Foreign Affairs Hearing: Accountability and Justice for War Crimes Committed in Ukraine by the Russian Federation.

“The March 16 attack on the drama theater in Mariupol that killed approximately 600 people was “most likely” an egregious violation of international humanitarian law and that those who ordered or executed it committed a war crime.

The report powerfully chronicles cases of Russia’s forces arresting civilians, including journalists, without any procedure, and ill-treating them by methods that amount to torture. It also cites evidence showing that Russia’s forces engaged in a “widespread and systematic pattern” of damage to Ukrainian healthcare facilities with attacks on 52 facilities between February 24 and March 22 by “indiscriminate bombardment and in some cases intentional targeting,” noting that these strikes too constitute war crimes.

Since the period covered in the report, the scale of atrocities committed by Russia’s forces in Ukraine has dramatically expanded. Russia has continued its campaign of utter destruction in Mariupol and has launched a renewed offensive in Ukraine’s east and south. Tens of thousands of civilians are feared dead in Russia’s barbaric siege of Mariupol. Liberated areas around Kyiv and Kharkiv have revealed evidence of mass killings and widespread sexual violence committed by members of Russia’s forces against civilians. Russia appears to be intensifying its ongoing forced transfers and deportations of local populations from Mariupol and other regions of Ukraine to Russia or Russia-controlled parts of the Donbas through so-called “filtration camps” – and truly abominable practice that harkens back to an era we all thought we would never see again”, - said Michael Carpenter.