The United States has warned the United Nations, they said, of a blacklist set up by Moscow for Ukrainians to be removed in the event of an invasion, according to an official letter polled by AFP on Sunday.
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The United States has “reliable information that Russian forces are preparing lists of Ukrainians to be killed or sent to camps in the event of a military occupation of Ukraine,” said the letter to the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet.
The letter also refers to “reliable information” regarding the use of force to “disperse peaceful demonstrations” or any other form of dissent from Ukrainian civil society, adds this letter, signed by Ambassador Pacheba Neil Crocker. The United States at the United Nations in Geneva.
The US diplomat warns that the Russian invasion of Ukraine could lead to abuses such as kidnappings or acts of torture, and could target political dissidents.
In an e-mail to AFP, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights confirmed it had “received the letter this morning.”
“We are reviewing it,” a spokeswoman said.
In mid-February, the Kremlin denounced US “hysteria” over Ukraine.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken reiterated on Sunday that Russia is “on the verge” of invading Ukraine, a charge Moscow denies, despite a 150,000-man rally at the border.
