Amnesty International said Sunday it stands by its allegations that Ukraine was exposing civilians to Russian attacks even as it “deeply regrets the distress and anger” caused.
The rights group sparked outrage in Ukraine with a report published Thursday that accused the war-ravaged country’s military of endangering civilians by creating bases in schools and hospitals and launching counter-attacks from populated areas.
“We fully stand by our findings,” Amnesty said while stressing that “nothing we documented Ukrainian forces doing in any way justifies Russian violations.”
Russian propaganda
The head of Amnesty’s Ukraine office, Oksana Pokalchuk, resigned in protest of the report, saying the group was parroting Russian propaganda.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Amnesty tried to “shift the responsibility from the aggressor to the victim.”