Ukraine launches investigation into 49 cases of murder for 124 Ukrainian POWs by Russia
Photo: RFE/R
Law enforcement officers are investigating 49 cases of murder involving the deaths of 124 Ukrainian prisoners of war on the battlefield.
Denys Lysenko, Head of the Department for Combating Crimes Committed in Conditions of Armed Conflict, Office of the Prosecutor General, reported this on TV.
"We are currently examining these cases closely, searching for any patterns or consistencies. We have already begun constructing cases against top members of the Russian Armed Forces, who we believe may have played a role in orchestrating these crimes or neglecting to intervene and hold those responsible accountable. As such, we are approaching all of these cases holistically and carefully considering the involvement of specific military units in each individual instance. However, this does not absolve the commanders of their responsibility," he said.
According to Lysenko, the increase in the number of murders of Ukrainian defenders during capture began at the end of last year and reached unprecedented levels this year. The largest number of cases were recorded in the Donetsk region.
He emphasized that on November 5, a new instance of Ukrainian prisoners of war being killed while surrendering was reported in the Donetsk region. These incidents occurred on October 23 in the eastern area of Selydove, resulting in the death of three prisoners of war, and on November 1 near the village of Vyshneve, also part of the Selydove community, where the occupiers shot three more prisoners of war.
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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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