UN commission's report on Ukraine fails to withstand criticism — Russian MFA

Maria Zakharova

MOSCOW, September 27. /TASS/: The accusations against Russia presented in the report of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine are groundless and do not withstand any criticism, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing.

"On September 25, during the current 54th session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), the so-called Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine presented a regular report on the results of its activities. The accusations voiced by its chairman, spokesman of Norway [Erik] Mose, which we cannot qualify as anything other than groundless and unsubstantiated, against the Russian authorities, <...> do not stand up to any criticism," the diplomat said.

Zakharova emphasized that "the speculative conclusions of the commission are based on the unsubstantiated stories of arbitrarily selected individuals positioning themselves as victims and eyewitnesses of alleged crimes of the Russian armed forces."

"Thus, the latest report just confirms the biased and corrupt nature of the commission's actions. It was initially laid down in the anti-Russian HRC resolution 49/1, which established this mechanism in March 2022," the official stated. "Russia immediately rejected any form of cooperation with this structure for these reasons."

The 54th session of the HRC is taking place in Geneva from September 11 to October 13. Russia does not belong to the council, but actively participates in its meetings.