UN raises serious charges against Russia – “torture”

Ukraine has been conducting more drone strikes on Russian border areas. Meanwhile, Poland's foreign minister criticized Germany's reluctance. More information on the news blog.

10:12 PM: Lithuania will give 35 million euros to a Czech bid to buy artillery munitions for Ukraine, which is under attack from Russia. The governments of the Baltic EU and NATO countries have decided to allocate the money to a plan that Prague wants to buy about 800,000 artillery shells for Ukraine in countries outside the EU.

Neighboring Latvia will also join the grenade effort. The Ministry of Defense in Riga has announced that an agreement has been signed with the Czech Republic for this purpose. No further information was initially provided.

8:45 PM: The US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on two men and their Russia-based companies for allegedly using fake news websites to support a pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign. On behalf of the Russian government, the Social Design Agency and its founder Ilya Andreyevich Kampashitze and its owner Nikolai Alexandrovich Dubykin created more than 60 fake websites and accounts on online networks, the ministry said. On Wednesday.

The fake websites were intended to imitate legitimate news sites, so there were photos and working links.

According to US disinformation researchers, hundreds of websites that use artificial intelligence to imitate news sites have appeared in recent months, leading to an explosion in false reporting on a variety of topics, including the US presidential election in November.

7:25 pm: According to a UN report, Russia uses “torture” and “arbitrary detention” in Moscow-controlled areas of Ukraine, creating a “climate of fear”. Russian forces are committing “massive violations” of human rights, the UN human rights office said in a report on Wednesday based on more than 2,300 interviews with victims and witnesses.

Additionally, Ukrainian identity is being crushed: “Russia has imposed its language, citizenship, laws, court system and curriculum on the occupied territories,” the UN said. Accordingly, school curricula were replaced by Russian curricula that “justified” the invasion of Moscow. The Russian military responded to peaceful protests with “violence” and restricted freedom of expression.

According to the report, Moscow has also blocked access to Ukrainian media and telephone networks in the regions. Citizens are therefore asked to report each other so that they no longer trust their friends and neighbors. Russia's actions have “torn apart the social fabric of communities and isolated populations, which has profound (…) consequences for Ukrainian society as a whole,” UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Turk said.

5:50 PM: At least 5 people were killed in a Russian rocket attack in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. Only three deaths had previously been reported in Ukraine. Seven others were injured, some seriously, Governor Ole Sinjehubo said in a telegram. Many more are suspected to be under the rubble. According to Civil Defense, the fire broke out due to highly flammable materials in the 10,000 square meter building. The media reports that one printing company in particular has been affected.