Russia accused of deliberate starvation tactics in Mariupol

A legal report claims that Russian forces should be prosecuted for war crimes for deliberately starving civilians during the battle for Mariupol. The report, released by Global Rights Compliance, details a deliberate plan by Russian forces to use starvation tactics during the 85-day siege of the city. The report includes evidence of attacks on food distribution points and vital infrastructure, as well as the destruction of medical facilities and supermarkets. The goal of the starvation tactics was to accelerate the capture of Mariupol by Russian forces. The report will be submitted to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court as part of a wider dossier of war crimes evidence collected by Ukrainian authorities. The report also highlights the impact of the siege on the civilian population, with an estimated 22,000 people killed during the encirclement and capture of Mariupol. The analysis argues that Russia engaged in a deliberate pattern of starvation tactics, amounting to a war crime, with the intention to harm civilians. The report points to Vladimir Putin and Russian military leadership as being culpable for the deaths of thousands of civilians in Mariupol. The phased targeting of the city demonstrated a planned assault by Russia without mercy for the civilian population. The report also mentions the application for arrest warrants by the chief prosecutor of the ICC for Israeli leaders accused of inflicting starvation on Palestinians in Gaza. The report concludes that starvation as a weapon of war is outlawed under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and calls for justice for the crimes committed against innocent Ukrainian civilians.