Ukraine’s ombudsman appeals to UN due to alleged brutal execution of Ukrainian POW captured by Russians

A photo of a Ukrainian prisoner of war with severed limbs and head was shared online. Due to the murder of a Ukrainian by the Russian troops, Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets has already turned to international organizations.

This is stated in the post of the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, Rubryka reports.

The photo shows a human body with severed limbs and a head. This footage may be shocking, so we have decided not to publish it.

"This is not just a violation of the Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War, this is the behavior of inhumans!" emphasized Lubinets and added that according to the norms of international humanitarian law, no prisoner of war can be subjected to physical mutilation, violence or murder.

The ombudsman urgently appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN to record yet another human rights violation by Russia.

He also called on the Ukrainian law enforcement agencies to verify the identity of the murdered prisoner and the fact of this crime.

The commissioner noted that Russia is responsible for the treatment of prisoners of war, so the responsibility for killing and maiming lies not only with the soldiers but also with the state itself.

Separately, he noted that a hybrid war is currently underway, so by spreading such photos and videos on social networks and taking these actions, the Russian Federation wants to intimidate Ukrainians.

"Supposedly, look at what we are capable of. But, looking at such footage, one thing is clear: it is impossible to forget and forgive! Crimes must be punished!" Lubinets said.

What is known about other executions of Ukrainian prisoners

It will be recalled that the head of the Department of the Prosecutor General's Office for Countering Crimes Committed in Conditions of Armed Conflict, Yurii Belousov, reported that from March 2022 to April, 54 cases of executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war by the Russians became known.

In total, law enforcement officers are investigating the murder of 54 Ukrainian defenders within 27 criminal proceedings for the execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war.

Regarding the last video of the execution of Ukrainian prisoners, which appeared on social networks on April 7, Belousov said that the crime scene near Krynyky in the Kherson region was preliminarily confirmed, but the details are still being checked.

Also, on February 18, servicemen of the Russian Federation shot two Ukrainian prisoners of war in the zone of responsibility of the Khortytsia operational and strategic group of troops.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed the information that Russian invaders shot two unarmed Ukrainian soldiers.

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 in the Zaporizhzhia region went viral.

In addition, in the Bakhmut district, the Russian troops shot Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered as prisoners.

The occupiers' crime became known, in particular, through a video that spread on social networks. According to the ombudsman, this probably happened on February 24, 2024, in the Bakhmut district.