Russian troops have carried out yet another execution of a group of Ukrainian soldiers who had the intention to surrender as prisoners of war, reported Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights on Telegram.
In the account provided by Lubinets, Russia presumably committed the war crime on Saturday, in the Bakhmut district of Donetsk region.
“On the video that we were able to watch, we saw that the Ukrainian soldiers were surrendering: they held their hands up and showed they were unarmed, posing no threat. The Russians were supposed to take them captive, but instead they mercilessly shot them dead,” the ombudsman pointed out.
The ombudsman plans to submit formal letters to the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross, urging them to document and publicly acknowledge that the Russian military is unlawfully killing Ukrainian prisoners of war.
“For the Russian army, the Geneva Conventions, rules, and customs of war mean nothing. They act in line with their unspoken ‘conventions,’ ‘rules,’ and ‘customs’ – cruelty, insidiousness, and lawlessness. Such murders of prisoners of war are not isolated cases. Perpetrators must be prosecuted,” he emphasized.
As previously reported by Ukrinform on February 18, there were accounts of Russians executing eight captured Ukrainian soldiers in Donetsk region, with six near Avdiivka and two near the village of Vesele, Bakhmut district. The six soldiers executed near Avdiivka had been seriously wounded and were awaiting evacuation.
“On the video that we were able to watch, we saw that the Ukrainian soldiers were surrendering: they held their hands up and showed they were unarmed, posing no threat. The Russians were supposed to take them captive, but instead they mercilessly shot them dead,” the ombudsman pointed out.
Lubinets said that the exact number of executed Ukrainian soldiers or officers is currently unknown but is estimated to be at least seven. The unit to which the perpetrators belong has already been identified.A video emerged of Russian soldiers executing Ukrainian POWs near Bakhmut.#WarCrimes #RussiaIsATerroristState pic.twitter.com/CN8XFoKzCG
— MARC (@nisroch) February 25, 2024
The ombudsman plans to submit formal letters to the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross, urging them to document and publicly acknowledge that the Russian military is unlawfully killing Ukrainian prisoners of war.
“For the Russian army, the Geneva Conventions, rules, and customs of war mean nothing. They act in line with their unspoken ‘conventions,’ ‘rules,’ and ‘customs’ – cruelty, insidiousness, and lawlessness. Such murders of prisoners of war are not isolated cases. Perpetrators must be prosecuted,” he emphasized.
As previously reported by Ukrinform on February 18, there were accounts of Russians executing eight captured Ukrainian soldiers in Donetsk region, with six near Avdiivka and two near the village of Vesele, Bakhmut district. The six soldiers executed near Avdiivka had been seriously wounded and were awaiting evacuation.
Source: Ukrinform
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