Russians executed two Ukrainian unarmed prisoners of war

The Department of Strategic Communications of the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed that the Russian military executed two Ukrainian prisoners of war. On December 2, the corresponding video appeared on social networks.

Near the village of Stepove in the Pokrovsky district of the Donetsk region, the Russians shot dead two Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered as prisoners.

A video of the shooting of unarmed servicemen appeared in the “DeepState” Telegram channel. It is reported that the Russians entered the positions of the 45th separate rifle battalion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. While conducting the sweep, the Russian military went to the dugout where the Ukrainian fighters were.

The defenders were forced to surrender due to a lack of ammunition, but when the second serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine came out of the shelter, the Russians shot both him and his comrade who was lying on the ground.

“The Russian Federation has once again violated the laws and customs of war, the norms of international law. The footage published in the media shows the execution of two prisoners of war of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to confirmed information, the Russian military once again treacherously shot unarmed soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” the agency writes.

Such crimes do not have a statute of limitations, all evidence will be handed over to the relevant international institutions that deal with war crimes, reminded the spokesman of the Defense Forces of the Tavria Region Oleksandr Shtupun.

The Department of Strategic Communications of Ukraine called on the international community to condemn the actions of the Russian Federation and to hold the country’s military leadership accountable.

Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, announced that he would appeal to the United Nations and the Red Cross about this video of the execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war. He emphasized that the execution of those who surrender is a war crime. The Russians once again violated the Geneva Conventions and disregarded international humanitarian law.

Oleksandr Shtupun, the spokesman of the Defense Forces of the Tavria Division, emphasized that such war crimes do not have a statute of limitations, and all evidence related to them will be handed over to relevant international institutions.

Ukrainian law enforcement agencies have launched an investigation into the shooting of two Ukrainian servicemen in Donetsk region by Russian troops. This is reported by the Prosecutor General’s Office.

Under the procedural leadership of the Donetsk regional prosecutor’s office, an investigation was 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).

It is noted that the killing of prisoners of war is a gross violation of the Geneva Conventions and qualifies as a grave international crime.