UN human rights chief Navi Pillay says renewed fighting in eastern Ukraine is putting civilians at increasing risk.
Pillay said July 4 in Geneva that since the end of Kyiv's cease-fire on 30 June, the UN human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine has reported numerous cases of death of people in Donetsk and Luhansk who are caught in the middle of ongoing security operations.
Pillay said she was also concerned by rising hate speech.
She said she was particularly disturbed by a message on the website of one leader of the self-proclaimed ‘Donetsk People’s Republic’, which states that underage children and women are legitimate targets and that the goal is to ‘immerse them in horror’.
“Such blatant incitement to violence is utterly reprehensible and a clear violation of international human rights law.” Pillay said.