Russian forces kill Ukrainian POWs near Selydove, Donetsk region
Russian soldiers have once again executed Ukrainian prisoners of war. In the area of Selydove, located in the Donetsk region, the invaders have taken the lives of four service members from the National Guard of Ukraine. Before this, the NGU fighters had been taken captive.
The Prosecutor General's Office reported that.
Based on operational data, four soldiers from the National Guard of Ukraine carried out service and combat duties at positions in the Selydove area on October 6.
"Around 1:00 p.m., the occupying forces launched an assault on the fortifications, during which they captured our defenders. Later, representatives of the Russian Armed Forces recorded the interrogation of the wounded, unarmed National Guardsmen on video," the report says.
According to prosecutors, the Defense Forces regained lost positions the following day.
"During the search, the bodies of the killed Ukrainian servicemen were discovered," the agency added.
The Prosecutor General's Office emphasizes that the killing of prisoners of war is a gross violation of the Geneva Conventions and qualifies as a grave international crime.
The law enforcement officers have started a pre-trial investigation in the criminal proceedings on the fact of violation of the laws and customs of war, combined with intentional murder – Part 2 of Art—438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
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Videos of the killings of Ukrainian prisoners of war by the Russian military were repeatedly circulated on the Internet. Currently, Ukrainian law enforcement officers have information about the execution of 93 prisoners of war on the battlefield.
In particular, the Russian military executed two captured soldiers of Ukraine's armed forces near the city of Selydove in the Donetsk region.
Earlier, Rubryka reported that the Russian military in the Bakhmut area shot a serviceman of Ukraine's armed forces, who may have been wounded. According to this fact, the prosecutor's office started an investigation.
In addition, in mid-August, a video appeared on the Internet in which the Russians showed the severed head of an alleged Ukrainian serviceman. It happened at the Kolotilovka checkpoint in the Belgorod region of Russia.
Regarding the video of the execution of Ukrainian prisoners, which appeared on social networks on April 7, Belousov said that the crime scene near Krynky in the Kherson region was previously confirmed, but the details are still being checked.
Also, on February 18, service members of the Russian Federation shot two Ukrainian prisoners of war in the area of responsibility of the Khortytsia Operational and Strategic Group of Forces.
In addition, at least 177 Ukrainian soldiers died in Russian captivity.
Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, said that Ukraine already knows about more than a hundred cases of executions by the Russian military of soldiers of the Defense Forces who surrendered as prisoners.
Also, the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Andrii Kostin, stated that about 90% of Ukrainian prisoners of war were subjected to torture, rape, threats of sexual violence or other forms of ill-treatment.
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