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US drones to help document Russian war crimes in Ukraine

01.08.2023 06:30
The United States has announced the delivery of nine autonomous drones to Ukraine to help document Russian war crimes.
A Skydio 2 drone.
A Skydio 2 drone.Photo: Dronetto, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

According to a statement by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the Skydio 2+ drones "have 4K cameras that will be used to take photo and video content to document war crimes."

The drones, "donated by Skydio, a leading US drone manufacturer," will aid the Office of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General to "document the more than 115,000 instances of destroyed civilian infrastructure, and evidence of human rights abuses on frontline communities and liberated territories," the agency said.

"These drones are critical for the Prosecutor General’s team, as it pursues justice for survivors of war crimes and human rights abuses committed by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation," it added.

USAID also said it "supports broader efforts to pursue accountability for war crimes and human rights abuses."

Two USAID-supported Ukrainian human rights coalitions have documented more than 40,000 incidents of Russia’s war crimes since February 24, 2022, according to the statement.

USAID said it also "participates in joint war crimes documentation visits with Ukraine’s Office of the Ombudsman for Human Rights."

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.

Tuesday is day 524 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

(gs)

Source: PAPusaid.gov