UN urged to probe crimes in east Ukraine

Self-proclaimed republics in east Ukraine have called on the UN to set up an international tribunal for investigating crimes against humanity committed by the Kiev army in the conflict-stricken region.

The head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), Alexander Zakharchenko, and his counterpart in the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), Igor Plotnitsky, made the request to the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday.

"The DPR and the LPR are asking the UN Security Council to found an international tribunal. We are calling on the UN secretary-general and the permanent members of the Security Council, the US, France, the UK, China and Russia, to make efforts to create an international tribunal,” Plotnitsky told reporters.

He underscored the need for the creation of such a tribunal due to “the gravity of the crimes” committed by the Ukrainian defense and security structures in the country’s restive eastern provinces.

Meanwhile, Zakharchenko said fact-finding commissions have been set up in Donetsk over the issue, adding, "The punitive operation conducted by Kiev has led to thousands of deaths.”

He added that there are a lot of evidence of the Ukrainian army's involvement in the mass killings of civilians in Ukraine's volatile regions.

Zakharchenko further said that as many as 3,684 people have been killed since the start of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, including 1,212 in 2015.

Ukraine’s mainly Russian-speaking regions in the east have witnessed deadly clashes between pro-Russia forces and the Ukrainian army since Kiev launched military operations to silence the pro-Moscow forces there in April 2014.

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