Ukrainian law enforcement officers are investigating 45 murders of Ukrainian prisoners of war

Since the beginning of full-scale Russian aggression, as of March 2024, Ukrainian law enforcement officers have documented and are investigating 45 cases of murder of prisoners of war.

This was reported by the spokeswoman of the Prosecutor General’s Office, Nadiya Maksimets, the facts of the killing of prisoners of war by Russian soldiers have been recorded since the beginning of the large-scale invasion. However, the number of such cases has increased especially since November 2023.

“As of March 2024, Ukrainian law enforcement officers have documented 45 murders of prisoners of war, which are being investigated within 19 criminal proceedings. However, this figure is not final.

In the course of the proceedings, not only the direct perpetrators of these crimes are established, but also those who could give orders for the execution of prisoners of war or did not respond to such actions of their subordinates,” the spokeswoman said.

Maksimets added that the killing of prisoners of war is a gross violation of the Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War and a grave international crime.

In particular, the press service of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine emphasized that under the procedural leadership of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Prosecutor’s Office, a Russian soldier who shot a Ukrainian prisoner of war was reported on suspicion of violating the laws and customs of war, combined with intentional murder.

“The Ukrainian defender put down his weapon, came out of the dugout and raised his hands up, thereby confirming his intention to surrender. However, instead of being captured, he received a non-life-threatening gunshot wound,” noted the prosecutor’s office.

According to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the attacker is Dmytro Kurashov, who has been convicted many times – a shooter of the “Storm-V” assault squad of the 127th motorized rifle division of the Eastern Military District of the Russian Federation.

According to the investigation and military counterintelligence of the SBU, on January 6, 2024, Kurashov shot dead a soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who was taken prisoner by the Russians during the “meat” assault on the Russian Federation. He fired at least 3 aimed shots at the captured Ukrainian.

Soon, Ukrainian Armed Forces fighters counterattacked the Russians and captured Kurashov and his fellow officers.

“During interrogation at the SBU, another captured Russian “surrendered” Kurashov, and later the Security Service of Ukraine gathered other irrefutable evidence of the Russian’s guilt in the murder of a captured soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” the SBU said in a statement.