‘Glory to Ukraine’ prisoner not only Ukrainian POW executed by Russians
Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets (Photo:Дмитро Лубінець)
While the horrific execution of Oleksandr Matsiyevsky, who was repeatedly shot for saying “Glory to Ukraine”, became known worldwide, we must remember that there are other Ukrainian prisoners of war that have been executed, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, wrote on Telegram on March 17.
"We have other evidence of Russians executing our unarmed prisoners of war. We got this information from our sources in the security agencies. Later videos are surfacing on social media. Russians are executing openly and cynically. They are accepted by their commanders and certain that no punishment will follow," Lubinets wrote.
He noted that Russia does not comply with the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law, systematically commits war crimes, and continues to violate the laws and customs of war.
"I inform the international community about each such crime, because bringing Russia to justice is not only a goal, but also a duty of the entire civilized world," he emphasized.
A grim video went viral on social media on March 6. It shows Russian soldiers executing an unarmed Ukrainian prisoner at close range. After the camera was pointed at the prisoner, Matsiyevsky says ‘Glory to Ukraine!’ and immediately a soldier shoots him in the head and then several times in the body.
Upon some efforts it was found out that the Ukrainian soldier from the video was a sniper of the 119th Brigade of Chernihiv Territorial Defence Forces, Oleksandr Matsiyevsky.
Matsiyevsky, 42, was a resident of Moldova but had lived in Nizhyn in Chernihiv Oblast. He volunteered to fight at the beginning of the Russian full-scale invasion.
Matsiyevsky was executed on Dec. 30, 2022. His body was exchanged in February, Ukraine's Security Service revealed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posthumously awarded him the title of Hero of Ukraine, the country’s highest national title conferred upon citizens.
Other videos of Russians' war crimes had surfaced earlier.
Last July, a video of the brutal torture of a Ukrainian prisoner was posted online. It shows Russian soldiers pressing a Ukrainian soldier to the ground and using something that looks like a clerical knife to remove his genitals, and then they hold them up to the camera.
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