The destruction of Ukrainian granaries is a war crime

The recorded facts of Russian destruction of granaries in Ukraine will be considered by the US government and international organizations as potential Russian war crimes.

In the future, they will be used to hold the Russian Federation accountable and introduce new sanctions, Nathaniel Raymond, one of the leaders of the Conflict Observatory project, the executive director of the Yale Humanitarian Laboratory, reported Ukrinform. ‎

“The information is useful for the efforts of relevant entities in the US government and around the world that are considering sanction measures and responsibility for russia, both in the short term and in the long term,” Raymond noted.

Regardless of whether Ukrainian grain infrastructure facilities were damaged intentionally or through indiscriminate shelling, attacks on grain warehouses are considered war crimes and crimes against humanity. This opinion was expressed by Raymond, referring to the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Rome Statute of 1998.

“The evidence we collected is consistent with these potential crimes,” the scientist emphasized.

In addition, the data on the destruction of granaries in Ukraine is also useful for the World Food Program, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and other specialized structures to reduce the consequences for global food security.

Earlier, the Conflict Observatory project found that since the beginning of russian invasion, Ukraine has lost one six grain warehouses, or 15.73% of the total amount. This list includes silos, elevators, bulk grain tanks and warehouses for wheat, barley and sunflower.