Rising executions of POWs: A grim war trend in Ukraine
Russian forces have once again executed Ukrainian prisoners of war, as recorded by drone operators from the 110th Brigade. Earlier, the BBC reported that Russian forces are increasingly executing Ukrainian prisoners of war.
The footage published on Sunday shows five Ukrainian soldiers being surrounded by Russian soldiers. The Ukrainians took cover in a ruined building. Kyiv's soldiers came out of the building one by one and surrendered their weapons.
They fell to the ground
A moment later, the five service members are surrounded by Russians. The group walks several dozen metres further. Two Russians and two Ukrainians remain behind—the latter are executed.
At the same time, on the road is another part of the group: three Russians, three Ukrainians, and three more Russians. The footage clearly shows the Russians shooting in the back of Ukrainian servicemen, who fall to the ground one by one.
The Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, reviewed the video showing the killing of Ukrainian prisoners of war. He announced that he would forward this information to the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
"The upward trend is very clear"
Earlier that day, the British BBC broadcast a report on the execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war. The Ukrainian prosecutor's office announced that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russians have executed at least 147 Ukrainian prisoners, 127 of whom were executed this year.
"The upward trend is very clear, very obvious," said Yuriy Bielousov, head of the department for combating crimes committed during the armed conflict at the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office.
- Executions became systemic from November last year and have continued throughout all of this year. Sadly, their number has been particularly on the rise this summer and autumn. This tells us that they are not isolated cases. They are happening across vast areas and they have clear signs of being part of a policy - there is evidence that instructions to this effect are being issued, added a representative of the Ukrainian prosecutor's office.
International humanitarian law, including the Third Geneva Convention, provides protection for prisoners of war, and their execution constitutes a war crime.
In October of this year, in the Kursk region of Russia, Russian forces shot nine Ukrainian soldiers taken captive. The Ukrainian prosecutor's office is investigating the case, analyzing, among other things, photos showing semi-naked bodies lying on the ground. Some executions were filmed by Russian forces, while others were recorded by Ukrainian drones hovering above them.
The killings captured on footage often take place in forests or fields, where there are no distinctive terrain features, making it difficult to determine their exact location.
Rachel Denber, deputy director of the Europe and Central Asia division at Human Rights Watch, confirmed that there is much evidence supporting allegations of the execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russian forces.
So far, there has been nothing to suggest that Russia is formally investigating claims that its forces have been executing Ukrainian prisoners of war. Even mentioning similar allegations is punishable by lengthy prison sentences in Russia, BBC noted.
Ukrainian forces have also been accused of executing Russian prisoners of war, but the number of such claims has been much smaller, added the station.
Bielousov emphasized that the Ukrainian prosecutor's office treats such allegations "very seriously" and is conducting investigations into these matters, but so far, no charges have been filed.
According to Human Rights Watch, since February 2022, the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russian forces have committed "a litany of violations, including those which should be investigated as war crimes or crimes against humanity".
