Law enforcement officials recorded an increase in the number of executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war

Since the end of November 2023, prosecutors have recorded an increase in the number of shootings by the Russian occupiers of Ukrainian military personnel who surrender. They assume that this indicates changes in the policy of the Russian Federation.

Yuriy Belousov, the head of the Department of Combating Crimes Committed in the Conditions of the Armed Conflict of the Prosecutor General’s Office, reported this: “We see a trend towards an increase in such cases starting from the end of November 2023. And already this year, it’s just massive. These are mainly Zaporizhzhia Region, Donetsk Region.”

He noted that this indicates “changes in the policy” of Russia. Thus, according to Belousov, executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war can be initiated by the top leadership of the Russian Armed Forces.

According to a representative of the Prosecutor General’s Office, the dissemination of such shootings in social networks is aimed at psychological impact.

“This is an attempt to intimidate Ukrainians so that they do not resist. And this fits into the general outline of the policy of the Russian Federation regarding the subjugation of the Ukrainian people. When they try to force Ukrainians to surrender through violence, executions, deportation of our citizens,” Belousov noted.

Consideration of cases

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, law enforcement officers have opened 19 criminal proceedings related to the murder of 45 prisoners of war. As Belousov says, these are the cases that are currently known, but there are “much more”.

The killing of prisoners began in the first days of the large-scale invasion, in particular, it was recorded in Chernihiv Region and Kharkiv Region.

In one of these cases, the court issued a verdict — a Russian army major who shot a Ukrainian prisoner in March 2022 was sentenced to life imprisonment. Another case is currently under consideration by the court, and suspicion has been declared in another proceeding.

Belousov said that all facts of the shooting of Ukrainian prisoners are being considered under Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — violation of the laws and customs of war. Within its limits, additional qualifications are also defined.

When considering such cases, Ukrainian investigators use information not only from Russian videos. They work with released prisoners who may be witnesses of crimes, interrogate the occupiers, and also receive information from sources on the territory of the Russian Federation, Belousov noted.

Executions of Ukrainian prisoners

In the evening of February 17, the Russians shared a video on the network, which showed the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers. Some of them were recognized by their relatives: they are Ukrainian defenders who could not be evacuated from the “Zenit” position in Avdiivka.

On February 18, it became known about the shooting near the village of Vesele, Bakhmut District. The recording from the drone camera shows how the Russian occupier shot two prisoners of war during the storming of Ukrainian positions. The Donetsk Prosecutor’s Office has started an investigation into both cases.

And on February 20, a video of the execution of three captured Ukrainian defenders by the military of the Russian army near the village of Robotyne, Zaporizhzhia region, went viral.

The prosecutor’s office also launched an investigation into the shooting by the occupiers of unarmed Ukrainian prisoners of war in the Bakhmut district on February 24.