Alleged war crime
Ukraine accuses Russia of shooting prisoners of war
Russian soldiers (archive photo) are accused of shooting prisoners
© Alexander Polegenko/Tass / Action Press
Does Russia shoot defenseless prisoners of war? Ukraine makes this accusation against Putin’s troops. The reason is two incidents from the past few days. The Ukrainian authorities are investigating war crimes.
The authenticity of the video as well as the place and time of its creation could not initially be verified. With this act of violence, “the Russians have once again shown their attitude towards international humanitarian law,” said the Ukrainian army command in the online service Telegram.
The Prosecutor General’s Office in Kiev said it began investigating suspected war crimes. According to them, the incident occurred near the village of Vesele in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
The General Prosecutor’s Office is also investigating reports of the alleged execution of six injured Ukrainian soldiers who remained behind after the Ukrainian withdrawal from the city of Avdiivka, which had been embattled for months.
The Telegram channel DeepState, which is close to the Ukrainian army, had previously reported on the case. Accordingly, the Ukrainian troops had to leave the men behind in Avdiivka when they withdrew because they were too seriously injured to be transported. According to DeepState, comrades later recognized the bodies of the six soldiers from videos posted on Russian websites.
Killing prisoners of war is a violation of the Geneva Convention
“The killing of prisoners of war is a serious violation of the Geneva Convention on the treatment of prisoners of war and a serious international crime,” said the Prosecutor General’s Office in Kiev. Russia initially did not respond to the allegations.
The killing of prisoners of war is a war crime. In the past, Ukrainian authorities had repeatedly accused Russia of killing unarmed Ukrainian soldiers. The United Nations documented several cases of arbitrary executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war as well as cases of torture.