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Killings of Civilians: Summary Executions and Attacks on Individual Civilians in Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Sumy Regions …

As of 31 October 2022, OHCHR – through the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine
(HRMMU) – had documented summary executions and attacks on individual civilians in 102 villages and towns of the three regions between 24 February and 6 April 2022. The acts in question were committed by Russian armed forces in control of these areas and led to the deaths of 441 civilians (341 men, 72 women, 20 boys and 8 girls). One hundred of those killings are analysed in this report and its Annex, as illustrative examples of the suffering borne by civilians in these areas.

Information available to OHCHR indicates that the total number of summary executions and lethal attacks directed against individual civilians by Russian armed forces in the three regions during the reporting period is likely considerably higher.

Atlas of Forensic Pathology: Prahlow & Byard

Postmortem changes refer to various processes that occur in a body after death producing a variety of effects. These changes can be divided into early and late time periods, the latter represented by decomposition, however the entire process represents a continuum. While the sequence of events can be predicted, many variables can influence the rate and extent of these alterations to the body, and so it is simply not possible to reliably estimate an accurate time of death (“postmortem interval”) based on these changes alone.

EU to launch platform to fight Russian, Chinese disinformation

EU to launch platform to fight Russian, Chinese disinformation

The European Union will launch a new platform to counter disinformation campaigns by Russia and China amid growing worries, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said today.

A so-called Information Sharing and Analysis Center within the EU's foreign services —the European External Action Service (EEAS) — will seek to track information manipulation by foreign actors and coordinate with the 27 EU countries and the wider community of NGOs.

"We need to understand how these disinformation campaigns are organized ... to identify the actors of the manipulation," said Borrell.

EU warns China on Ukraine disinformation and cyberattacks

EU warns China on Ukraine disinformation and cyberattacks

China should tread carefully when it comes to spreading disinformation and cyberattacks to help Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, European Union digital chief Věra Jourová said Monday. [...]

“I have stated that we consider how China interacts with Russia's war against Ukraine to be a determining factor for EU-China relations going forward. This includes of course aspects relating to cybersecurity, and disinformation,” Jourová said in a statement to POLITICO after the EU-China High-Level Digital Dialogue.

Before-and-after photos show Ukraine's swift restoration of Bucha, once a byword for the horrors of Russian occupation

Before-and-after photos show Ukraine’s swift restoration of Bucha, once a byword for the horrors of Russian occupation

More than a year has passed since Russian troops invaded the town of Bucha in Ukraine. Serhiy Nuzhnenko was one of the first photojournalists to enter Bucha in the midst of the invasion. His before-and-after images show its striking restoration and the resilience of its residents.

Environmental conditions and bodily decomposition: Implications for long term management of war fatalities and the identification of the dead during the ongoing Ukrainian conflict

In this paper, the authors provide an overview of the deaths incurred during the early weeks of the war and will attempt to illustrate the range of variables which will inform the practical response to recover and identify those killed, before they receive their final burial. It will introduce some of the organisations which have provided forensic support and will also identify emerging ethical considerations which should be monitored for the remainder of the conflict.

Evaluation of Postmortem Changes

Evaluation of Postmortem Changes

Postmortem changes constitute the natural progression of the body’s decomposition after death, beginning at the cellular level. The process involves complex cellular and biological phenomena. The changes that commence immediately after death continue to occur over a prolonged period at different rates for different organs. The onset and extent of these changes are affected by multiple intrinsic and extrinsic factors. The rates are not precise and differ from one geographical region to another and also differ in the same geographic region from one season to another. Understanding postmortem changes is essential for estimating the postmortem interval (PMI) or time since death, one of the primary objectives of the forensic autopsy. The timings of the appearance of the various postmortem changes mentioned in this brief overview of postmortem changes are only guidelines pertaining to tropical climates unless otherwise specified and should never be considered as absolute.

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