Amnesty International regrets ‘disruption’ caused by its report on Ukraine

Amnesty International has apologized for the “uproar and outrage” caused by a report accusing Ukraine of putting civilians at risk, which angered President Volodymyr Zelensky and prompted the resignation of the head of the NGO’s Kyiv branch.

The organization published the report on Thursday highlighting that the presence of Ukrainian military forces in populated areas increases the risks to civilians during the Russian invasion.

“Amnesty International deeply regrets the upset and outrage caused by our press release about the war tactics of the Ukrainian military,” it said in an email to Reuters.

“Amnesty International’s priority in this and any conflict is to ensure the protection of civilians. Indeed, this was our sole aim when we published this research. While we stand by our findings fully, we regret the pain caused.”

Zelensky accused the NGO of trying to shift blame from Russian aggression, while Amnesty’s head of Ukraine, Oksana Pokalchuk, resigned, saying the report was a propaganda gift for Moscow.

Ukrainian officials emphasize that they are trying to remove civilians from the war front line areas. Russia, which denies targeting civilians, has not commented on Amnesty’s report.

In its email on Sunday, Amnesty said it found Ukrainian forces next to civilian homes in 19 towns and villages it visited, exposing them to incoming Russian fire.

“This does not mean that Amnesty International holds Ukrainian forces responsible for violations committed by Russian forces, nor that the Ukrainian military is not taking adequate precautions elsewhere in the country,” it said.

“We must be very clear: Nothing we have documented that Ukrainian forces are doing in any way justifies Russian violations,” the NGO concludes.