The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine officially confirmed that the Russian invaders shot 16 Ukrainian prisoners of war in the Pokrovsky direction. This is the most massive known case of the execution of soldiers of the Defense Forces of Ukraine who surrendered as prisoners.
Points of attention
- Russian soldiers committed the largest known execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
- Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin considers this crime to be a continuation of the purposeful policy of the Russian military and political leadership.
- The Donetsk Regional Prosecutor's Office has started a pre-trial investigation into this war crime.
The Russians committed another shocking war crime
On October 1, a video was published online showing the shooting of 16 Ukrainian servicemen by the Russian occupiers.
According to the latest data, this happened in the area of Mykolaivka and Sukhyi Yar villages of Pokrovsky District.
The released video shows how, under the control of the enemy, captured soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine left the plantation. After they lined up, the occupiers deliberately opened fire on them to defeat them. The wounded, who showed signs of life, were killed at close range with automatic fire, the report says.
As Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin stated, this is the most massive known case of execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war on the front line.
He also reminded that this is a purposeful policy of the Russian military and political leadership.
In addition, it is reported that under the procedural leadership of the Donetsk regional prosecutor's office, a pre-trial investigation has been launched into the fact of violation of the laws and customs of war, combined with intentional murder (Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
The Ukrainian Ombudsman has already reacted to the mass execution of Ukrainian defenders
Dmytro Lubinets, the VRU Commissioner for Human Rights, emphasized that he would seek a response from the international community to this new war crime.
These are as many as 16 soldiers who, according to the Geneva Conventions, should have been protected from the party that takes prisoners. However, the inhuman country has once again violated IHL and the Geneva Conventions and is resorting to the execution of prisoners of war on a new scale.
Dmytro Lubinets
Commissioner of the VRU on human rights
Dmytro Lubinets also added that he informed the UN and the ICRC in letters about another Russian crime.
According to him, systematic crimes against Ukrainian prisoners of war must be stopped, and those who committed them must be held accountable.
