Ukraine’s prosecutor general has opened a war crimes investigation after a video emerged online apparently showing Russian troops shooting unarmed Ukrainian military prisoners in the back.
Earlier on Thursday, video material spread on the Telegram app showing Russian soldiers taking turns to shoot Ukrainian prisoners one by one, Politico reported, with one Russian soldier saying “leave one for me” as a seventh Ukrainian captive lay on the ground. Politico said it could not independently verify the footage.
“During an assault on the positions of Ukrainian troops in the Donetsk region, the invaders captured six servicemen of the Defense Forces of Ukraine and subsequently shot them," the prosecutor general's office said in a statement.
“The execution of prisoners of war is a serious violation of the Geneva Convention relative to the treatment of prisoners of war and is classified as a grave international crime.”
Ukraine’s ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, has filed a war crimes complaint against Russia with the United Nations and the International Red Cross in relation to the video.
The AFP news agency quoted Lubinets as posting on social media: “In the video, the occupiers recorded their own crime – shooting six Ukrainian soldiers who were captured in the back."
Lubinets said in December that cases of Russian troops summarily executing Ukrainian prisoners of war have increased dramatically over the last year.
Kyiv has recorded a total of 177 executions of Ukrainian POWs by Russian forces since the start of the invasion in 2022, according to Politico.
The Kyiv Independent online newspaper reported that allegations of torture, murder and abuse of Ukrainian prisoners have surged in recent months, particularly in the eastern Donetsk region.
The Kremlin officially denies any mistreatment of POWs.
“During an assault on the positions of Ukrainian troops in the Donetsk region, the invaders captured six servicemen of the Defense Forces of Ukraine and subsequently shot them," the prosecutor general's office said in a statement.
“The execution of prisoners of war is a serious violation of the Geneva Convention relative to the treatment of prisoners of war and is classified as a grave international crime.”
Ukraine’s ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, has filed a war crimes complaint against Russia with the United Nations and the International Red Cross in relation to the video.
The AFP news agency quoted Lubinets as posting on social media: “In the video, the occupiers recorded their own crime – shooting six Ukrainian soldiers who were captured in the back."
Lubinets said in December that cases of Russian troops summarily executing Ukrainian prisoners of war have increased dramatically over the last year.
Kyiv has recorded a total of 177 executions of Ukrainian POWs by Russian forces since the start of the invasion in 2022, according to Politico.
The Kyiv Independent online newspaper reported that allegations of torture, murder and abuse of Ukrainian prisoners have surged in recent months, particularly in the eastern Donetsk region.
The Kremlin officially denies any mistreatment of POWs.
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