Shooting of the wounded in Avdiivka: the Ukrainian ombudsman appealed to the UN

Dmytro Lubinets appealed to the UN and the Red Cross regarding the shooting by the Russians of six wounded Ukrainian soldiers at the Zenit stronghold, whom they promised to capture and later exchange.

The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Dmytro Lubinets, appealed to the United Nations (UN) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) regarding the shooting by the Russians of six Ukrainian soldiers at the Zenit checkpoint in Avdiivka. The ombudsman reported this on Tuesday, February 20.

“I urgently sent letters to the ICRC and the UN to record this war crime and find out all the circumstances. I note that this is not the first time that Russia grossly violates the norms of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions by executing prisoners of war,” he said.

According to him, the withdrawal of the Ukrainian military from Avdiyivka took place under conditions of continuous bombardment by the Russian army, which fired at evacuation routes and cars. It was possible to evacuate some of the seriously wounded and dead, but due to the large-scale offensive of the occupiers, there were no chances for repeated attempts to evacuate.

Due to the complete encirclement of the “Zenith” stronghold, the command decided to contact the coordination center and organizations that are negotiating with the Russian Federation. “The dialogue was about providing assistance to our seriously wounded unarmed military personnel, in accordance with international laws and rules of conduct that protect prisoners of war. The Russians informed the coordinators of this process that they agree to evacuate the wounded Ukrainian defenders and provide them with assistance, and in the future – to exchange them. The Ukrainian servicemen received an order to save their lives,” said Lubinets.

Judging by the video released by the Russians, they did not keep the agreements. “The families of the defenders recognized Georgy Pavlov, Andriy Dubnytskyi, and Ivan Zhitnyk as the dead. They were also accompanied by Oleksandr Zinchuk and Mykola Savosik, who were shot by Russian soldiers. The information about the sixth soldier has not yet been confirmed,” wrote Lubinets.