Russian troops execute 16 Ukrainian POWs
Russian troops have executed 16 Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered near Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General's Office reported on Oct. 1.
The statement describes the apparent war crime as a “mass execution” of Ukrainian POWs that were captured near the villages of Mykolaivka and Sukhyi Yar.
Initial reports about it started circulating on Telegram earlier the same day. Some of them included drone footage showing 16 POWs being ordered to line up after surrendering to Russian troops. Immediately afterwards, enemy soldiers opened fire on the prisoners, finishing off wounded survivors with point blank shots from automatic rifles.
The Prosecutor General's Office emphasized that this act represents a serious violation of the Geneva Conventions and a grave international crime.
“This is the largest known execution of Ukrainian POWs on the front lines,” Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said.
“It serves as further evidence that the killing and torture of prisoners are not isolated incidents but a deliberate policy of the Russian military and political leadership.”
Ukrainian law enforcement is still establishing the authenticity of the video footage. Investigative and operational actions are underway to ascertain all details of this crime. The pre-trial investigation is being conducted Ukraine’s SBU security service branch responsible for Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.
Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets also commented to this latest Russian war crime.
“The inhumane country has once again violated international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions, resorting to new scales of executions of POWs,” said Lubinets.
“Once again, in my capacity as the Ombudsman of Ukraine, I inform the UN and the ICRC [International Committee of the Red Cross] of yet another Russian crime. The systematic nature of crimes against Ukrainian POWs must be stopped, and those who committed these acts must be held accountable.”
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