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A United Nations commission reported instances of rape, torture, and unlawful confinement by Russian forces against Ukrainian civilians ages "four to 82 years."
"Based on the evidence gathered by the Commission, it has concluded that war crimes have been committed in Ukraine," the U.N.'s Ukraine Inquiry team said in a Friday statement.
"We were struck by the large number of executions in the areas that we visited. The Commission is currently investigating such deaths in 16 towns and settlements," the report continued, adding that there are cases where "children have been raped, tortured, and unlawfully confined."
The commission further said that some Russian troops forced family members to witness crimes committed against their loved ones, from as young as four to as old as 82. In addition, children have "been killed and injured in indiscriminate attacks with explosive weapons."
"The exposure to repeated explosions, crimes, forced displacement and separation from family members deeply affected their well-being and mental health," the panel stated.
Reports of mass graves in several Ukrainian cities by the U.N. come after Ukrainian officials made similar claims in the cities of Bucha and Izium, alleging that Russian forces slaughtered the local civilian populations after taking control.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed the tragedies committed in Russian-occupied areas while speaking with reporters last week after his government retook Izium, Al Jazeera reported.
"The view is very shocking, but it is not shocking for me … because we began to see the same pictures from Bucha, from the first deoccupied territories … so the same destroyed buildings, killed people," Zelenskyy said.
The U.N. Inquiry team's report concludes by indicating its complete cooperation with the Human Rights Council regarding any potential action against the Kremlin.
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