Russia remains a party to the Geneva Conventions and is obliged to comply with their provisions, despite having withdrawn its declaration recognising the International Fact-Finding Commission. At the same time, the Russian army continues to attack civilians and protected sites in Ukraine.
This is reported by Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence.
One of the largest such strikes was the attack on the settlement of Komyshuvakha in Zaporizhzhia Region on 2 November 2026. Russian forces dropped aerial bombs on a humanitarian aid distribution point set up in the former “Dzherelo” grammar school, and later struck the shelter where people had taken cover.
According to police data as of 12 November, the bodies of at least 57 people were recovered from the rubble, and 48 of them have been identified. Search operations were ongoing. Among the dead were two State Emergency Service rescuers and four police officers.
The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine noted that the time and place of the humanitarian aid distribution had been announced in advance. In the mission’s assessment, the strike appears to have violated the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law.
The Geneva Conventions on the protection of war victims were adopted on 12 August 1949. They provide for the protection of civilians, the wounded, the sick and prisoners of war. The 1977 Additional Protocols clarified the rules for protecting civilians, objects and civil defence organisations.
The USSR signed the conventions on 12 December 1949 and ratified them on 10 May 1954. It signed Additional Protocol I on 12 December 1977 and ratified it on 29 September 1989.
Russia considers itself the successor state to the USSR and remains a party to these international treaties. In 2019, it withdrew its declaration recognising the International Fact-Finding Commission. However, this does not mean withdrawal from the Geneva Conventions or Additional Protocol I. Russia’s Foreign Ministry has also stated that withdrawing the declaration does not affect the country’s participation in the protocol.
Among Russia’s obligations are to respect the conventions and ensure compliance with them, allow the International Committee of the Red Cross access to prisoners of war, refrain from deporting civilians, and search for and prosecute those who have committed crimes.
The rules of international humanitarian law apply during an international armed conflict regardless of what one of the parties calls it. Therefore, Russia’s use of the term “special military operation” does not change its obligations.
The Ministry of Defence cites six examples of Russian strikes between 2 and 10 November which, in the ministry’s assessment, violate international humanitarian law.
Komyshuvakha, 8 November. During the clearing of rubble after the attack on the humanitarian aid distribution point, Russian drones struck the work site three times. Two rescuers were injured and a fire and rescue vehicle was damaged. Additional Protocol I provides for the protection of civil defence personnel and organisations.
Kharkiv, 3 November. An aerial bomb hit a passageway between buildings of the city hospital. At the time, the cardiology building had 236 patients and 31 staff members inside. According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, 73 people were injured and 226 patients were evacuated. Civilian hospitals are under special protection under the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Nine regions, 3 November. Russian forces used 289 attack drones, 17 ballistic missiles and 59 cruise missiles. The main targets were generation facilities and substations. In Dnipro, a hospice, a hospital and an outpatient clinic were also damaged. According to the State Emergency Service, two people were killed and 20 others were injured.
Kyiv and the surrounding region, 7 November. Russia launched 36 missiles and 172 attack drones at the region. Substations connecting the Rivne and Khmelnytskyi nuclear power plants to Kyiv were hit. A five-storey residential building and a building on the grounds of a nursery school were also damaged. At least five people were injured in Kyiv, including a 14-year-old child. In Kyiv Region, a man was killed.
Kropyvnytskyi, 10 November. A Russian strike hit a shop belonging to one of the retail chains. According to the State Emergency Service, two people were injured.
The Ministry of Defence stresses that Additional Protocol I prohibits attacks on the civilian population and civilian objects, and also obliges parties to a conflict to take precautions to protect civilians during military operations.
According to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, 73,451 civilian casualties were verified between 24 February 2022 and 30 September 2026. Of these, 17,605 people were killed and 55,846 were injured. The mission stresses that the actual number of casualties is higher.
In January–September 2026, 2,570 civilians were killed and a further 15,211 people were injured. This is 59% more than in the same period of 2025. The number killed in the first nine months of 2026 has already exceeded the figure for the whole of 2025 — 2,549 people.
Some international organisations also record attacks on protected categories and sites:
- healthcare — more than 3,400 attacks verified by the World Health Organization as of 3 November 2026;
- education — 4,706 institutions have been affected by shelling, 428 of them completely destroyed, according to the Ministry of Education and Science;
- energy — at least 423 attacks on the electricity sector and 74 on heat supply from October 2025 to March 2026, according to the UN;
- rescue workers — 130 State Emergency Service personnel killed since the start of the full-scale invasion as of 17 September 2026;
- humanitarian workers — 35 killed and 127 injured since 2022, according to INSO as of 24 February 2026.
These figures are collected by different organisations over different periods, so they are not added together.
In a report presented to the General Assembly on 26 October 2026, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine concluded that attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.
At the same time, there is no official tally of violations of the Geneva Conventions: legally, such violations must be established by courts.