Russia war crimes allegations mount as Ukraine refugees top six million

KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — Russia faced mounting accusations of war crimes in Ukraine Friday including forcing thousands of people into interrogation camps, as the number of refugees reported to have fled the conflict surpassed six million.

The Russian invasion has also led to a seismic policy change by Finland, whose leaders said Thursday the previously neutral nation must apply to join NATO "without delay" – triggering a blunt warning of retaliation from the Kremlin.

Throughout the 11-week conflict, Russian forces have been accused of committing atrocities – including the killing of unarmed civilians, torture and rape.

CNN and the BBC on Thursday released what they said was security camera footage showing Russian soldiers with assault rifles shooting two Ukrainian civilians in the back.

The two men appeared unarmed – the footage showed the soldiers frisking them before allowing them to walk away at a business premises on the outskirts of the capital Kyiv.

One man died on the spot, the other shortly after, according to the outlets.

The killings took place on March 16 and are being investigated as a war crime, CNN said. AFP has not independently verified the footage.

Separately, investigators and witnesses interviewed by AFP Thursday accused Russian forces of shelling a residential home in an eastern Ukrainian village from a tank, killing three civilians.

The incident took place on March 27 in the village of Stepanki outside Kharkiv, the Ukrainian prosecutor general's office said on Telegram.

Local resident Denys, 40, said he saw the barrel of the tank turn towards him.

"Someone said: let's go hide inside the house," Denys said.

"I entered last and as soon as I entered, the tank fired. Everything collapsed, I couldn't see anything."

The UN Human Rights Council voted 33-2 on Thursday to investigate alleged atrocities by Russian troops in Ukraine.

Ukrainian prosecutors say they have received reports of more than 10,000 alleged crimes.

‘Brutal interrogations’

The UN refugee agency said Thursday more than six million people had fled Ukraine, more than half of them going to neighboring Poland.

Women and children make up 90 percent of the refugees, UNHCR said.

The United States on Thursday accused Russia of forcibly taking tens of thousands of Ukrainians to "filtration camps" in Russia or Russian-controlled territory where they are subjected to "brutal interrogations."

"These actions amount to war crimes," said Michael Carpenter, the US ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

"We must not allow this evil to stand."

The remarks backed Kyiv's allegation that 1.2 million people have been taken to Russia or Russiancontrolled areas.

Fighting in Ukraine has been concentrated in the south and east since Russia abandoned attempts to seize the capital.

Ukraine's presidency said shelling continued throughout Lugansk – part of the Donbas region where its forces are fiercely opposing Russian troops and Kremlin-backed separatists.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday that Russian forces had destroyed 570 healthcare facilities.

"What for? It's nonsense. It's barbarity," he said.