Ukraine is also to blame for the nursing home attack

Two weeks after Russia began its war of aggression against Ukraine on February 24, a nursing home in the eastern region of Luhansk was attacked. Many civilians were killed.

In a new UN report on the deadly attack, Ukraine also receives harsh criticism.

Many elderly and disabled people – several of whom were bedridden – became permanently indoors without access to water or electricity in connection with the attack. The attack led to a fire in the accommodation, and around 50 people who could not move themselves are estimated to have lost their lives in the attack.

The attack took place on March 11, and during the very brutal war that then lasted for two weeks, the nursing home attack still stood out as extremely cruel. Ukraine accused Russia of killing about 50 civilians in a brutal and unprovoked attack.

But a report from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights also blames Ukraine for the incident. The conclusion is justified in the report by the fact that Ukrainian soldiers in the days before the attack positioned themselves inside the nursing home and thus in practice made the building a target for the Russian attackers.

At least 21 of the 71 people – patients and staff – who were in the nursing home managed to escape and survived the attack.

The UN report does not point to Russia or Ukraine as war criminals in the Russian attack. But it is concluded that the battle of the Luhansk nursing home became a symbol of the UN’s concern about the potential use of “human shields” in war situations.