UN cites rights violations on both sides of Ukraine conflict

GENEVA – A new U.N. report points to persistent patterns of human rights violations both in areas controlled by pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine and territories run by the Kyiv government.

The office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said Friday that 9,371 people have now been killed and over 21,500 others have been injured in eastern Ukraine since the conflict between the government and separatists began in April 2014.

The report said enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, torture and ill-treatment remain “deeply entrenched practices” on both sides.

U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ivan Simonovic said an increase in heavy weaponry near the contact line and hostilities near Avdiivka and Yasynutava since March suggested “the crisis is far from over and should not fall off the radar of the international community.”