The head of Amnesty International’s Ukraine office has resigned, accusing the rights organisation of parroting Kremlin propaganda in a controversial report that criticised the war-torn country’s military response to Russia’s invasion.
Amnesty sparked outrage in Ukraine with the publication of a report that accused the military of endangering civilians by establishing bases in schools and hospitals, and launching counterattacks from heavily populated areas.
“If you don’t live in a country invaded by occupiers who are tearing it to pieces, you probably don’t understand what it’s like to condemn an army of defenders,” Amnesty’s Oksana Pokalchuk said on social media, announcing her resignation late Friday.
“And there are no words in any language that can convey this to someone who has not experienced this pain.”
Pokalchuk said she had tried to warn Amnesty’s senior leadership that the report was one-sided and failed to properly take into account the Ukrainian position, but she was ignored.
Amnesty Secretary General, Agnes Callamard, responded to Pokalchuk’s resignation, saying: “Oksana has been a valued member of Amnesty staff and has led the Amnesty International Ukraine office for seven years with many significant human rights successes.
“We are sorry to hear that she is leaving the organisation, but we respect her decision and wish her well,” Callamard said.
Amnesty says it contacted defence officials in Kyiv with its findings on July 29, but had not received a response by the time of publication — but Pokalchuk argued that this wasn’t nearly enough notice.
“As a result, the organisation unintentionally put out a statement that sounded like support for Russian narratives. Striving to protect civilians, this research instead became a tool of Russian propaganda.”
Amnesty listed incidents in which Ukrainian forces appeared to have exposed civilians to danger in 19 towns and villages in the Kharkiv, Donbas and Mykolaiv regions.
