Recently, the Russian army has significantly increased the number of systematic executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war, and also actively uses chemical weapons at the front. This is a violation of the Geneva Convention and the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
Points of attention
- The Russian occupiers systematically execute Ukrainian prisoners of war, which shows the low discipline of the military and the lack of punishment for war crimes.
- The use of chemical weapons, in particular chlorpicrin, on the front of the Russian Federation is a violation of international conventions and prohibitions.
- The activity of Russian forces is confirmed by the ISW analysis and the conclusion of the US State Department regarding the use of chemical agents by Russia.
- Ukrainian law enforcement officers have data on the execution of 93 Ukrainian soldiers by Russian troops on the battlefield.
- The trend of increasing executions and the use of chemical weapons was noticed starting from November last year, when the attitude of Russian servicemen towards prisoners of war of the Armed Forces changed.
Russian occupiers purposefully and systematically execute Ukrainian prisoners of war
According to ISW analysts, according to Ukrainian officials, on October 18, Russian forces executed two unarmed prisoners of war of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near the settlement of Selidove in Donetsk region. Prisoners of war were shot at close range with their hands tied.
Also, on October 20, a Russian military correspondent published a video and claimed that Russian forces were using chlorpicrin — a chemical agent that damages the lungs — against Ukrainian troops.
On May 1, the US State Department confirmed Russia's use of chlorpicrin and other chemical agents, which violates the Chemical Weapons Convention signed by Russia.
Ukrainian official sources also previously reported that the Russians are increasingly using grenades equipped with chloropicrin.
ISW analysts concluded that such systematic war crimes show the low discipline of Russian troops and the lack of punishment for soldiers for violating the laws of war.
There is no evidence that Russia is holding Russian personnel accountable for the reported violations of the laws of war, ISW concluded.
Russian occupiers executed 93 Ukrainian soldiers on the battlefield
The law enforcement officers have data on the execution of 93 Ukrainian prisoners of war by the Russian military on the battlefield. This was reported by the head of the Department of Combating Crimes Committed in the Conditions of Armed Conflict of the Prosecutor General's Office Yuriy Belousov.
According to him, 80% of cases of executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war were recorded this year. At the same time, the trend began to appear in November of last year, when "there were changes in the attitude of Russian servicemen towards our prisoners of war for the worse," the head of the "war department" noted.
