More than 6,000 killed in ‘merciless devastation’ in Ukraine: UN

The U.N. human rights office reported a “serious escalation” in the conflict in Ukraine since 2015 began. Speaking in Geneva at the presentation of Monday’s report, UN human rights envoy to Ukraine Ivan Simonovic said the deliberate targeting of civilian areas may “constitute a war crime”, and if widespread and systematic, a crime against humanity. The report also detailed arbitrary detention, torture and abductions committed mainly by armed militias, but in some cases also by Ukrainian law enforcement agencies, as well as a massive amount of internally displaced citizens.

Many have been trapped in conflict zones, forced to shelter in basements, with hardly any drinking water, food, heating, electricity or basic medical supplies.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein

A meeting between U.S. and Russian foreign ministers John Kerry and Sergei Lavrov in Geneva was just one of several attempts at mediation on the conflict Monday, as high-stakes talks to resolve a bitter gas dispute between Kiev and Moscow took place in Brussels. Heavy weaponry and foreign fighters — including militants from Russia — continue flowing into rebel strongholds of Donetsk and Lugansk, which the U.N. said is “undermining the potential for peace.”

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