Matt Bush, FISM News
The U.S. sent a letter to the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, warning that Russia is “creating lists of identified Ukrainians to be killed or sent to camps” following an expected invasion of Ukraine.
The letter, which can be seen in its entirety here, is particularly disturbing in light of claims by the Biden administration that there is credible evidence that Russia has already decided to invade Ukraine. The invasion would include one of the largest armies in the world invading a smaller country with seemingly no outside military help.
Ambassador Bathsheba Nell Crocker, the U.S. Representative to the Office of the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva, wrote the letter alleging that, “Moscow’s post-invasion planning would involve torture, forced disappearances and widespread human suffering.” She did not, however, describe the nature or source of the intelligence received.
For their part, the Kremlin denied the letter’s claims. Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, said, “Do you realize that this is an absolute canard, a lie? It is absolute fiction. There is no such list. It’s a fake.” As of the writing of this article, the Russian Embassy in Washington has yet to respond.
The Kremlin continues to deny claims that it plans to invade Ukraine, continuing to blame America and other NATO governments for spreading false information in order to destabilize the region. As they blame the West, however, they continue to amass more than 150,000 troops on or near the Ukraine border while demanding guarantees that Ukraine will never be accepted into NATO.
In the letter, Crocker not only points to vague information that the U.S. has obtained about these potential future human rights violations, she also points to past Russian operations to show what the country would probably do if the invasion is successful.
Past Russian operations have included targeted killings, kidnappings/forced disappearances, unjust detentions, and the use of torture, would likely target those who oppose Russian actions, including Russian and Belarusian dissidents in exile in Ukraine, journalists and anti-corruption activists, and vulnerable populations such as religious and ethnic minorities and LGBTQI+ persons.”
Since this letter was sent, President Biden “agreed in principle” to hold a summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. French President Macron brokered the meeting between the two, and the meeting would be followed by talks involving “relevant stakeholders to discuss security and strategic stability in Europe.”
Biden said that the meeting could only happen if Russia does not invade Ukraine. The proposed summit would follow a scheduled meeting in Europe between Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that is set to occur later this week.
The Kremlin has since denied that they have agreed to the meeting.