Demonstrators seen at the Lincoln Memorial calling for the US to take action amid the Russia-Ukraine tensions.
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- Russia is creating hit lists of Ukrainians ahead of a possible invasion, said the US Ambassador to the UN, Bathsheba Nell Crocker.
- Crocker made the comments in a letter to UN High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet.
- Citing ‘credible information,’ she also warned that Russian troops would likely use lethal force against protesters.
Russia is creating lists of Ukrainians “to be killed or sent to camps” in the event of an invasion, said Bathsheba Nell Crocker, the US ambassador to the United Nations.
“We are deeply concerned about Russia’s continuing human rights abuses in the parts of Ukraine it already occupies and have every reason to believe those concerns will multiply following a new military offensive,” she wrote in a letter to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet shared by the Washington Post on Monday.
Crocker wrote that “disturbing information” obtained by the US suggests that Russia is already planning human rights abuses ahead of a possible invasion of Ukraine. She added that Russian forces had used tactics such as targeted killings, kidnappings, illegal detentions, and torture during previous operations.
According to Crocker, dissidents, journalists, ethnic minority groups, and LGBTQI+ individuals are likely targets.
“Specifically, we have credible information that indicates Russian forces are creating lists of identified Ukrainians to be killed or sent to camps following a military occupation. We also have credible information that Russian forces will likely use lethal measures to disperse peaceful protests or otherwise counter peaceful exercises of perceived resistance from civilian populations,” she added.
Insider has reached out to the Russian Foreign Ministry for comment.
On Sunday, President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin indicated their in-principle agreement to hold a summit on February 24. Earlier that day, CBS News reported that Russian commanders had received orders to proceed with the Ukraine invasion.
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