Prosecutor General’s Office investigates murder of Azov soldier Ishchenko in Russian captivity
The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine is investigating the circumstances of the death of a defender of the Azov regiment as a result of multiple injuries sustained in captivity.
This was reported by Censor.NET with reference to the press center of the Prosecutor General's Office.
"Under the procedural supervision of the Central District Prosecutor's Office of Dnipro, a pre-trial investigation was launched into the violation of the laws and customs of war, combined with premeditated murder (Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine)," the statement reads.
Within the framework of the initiated proceedings, law enforcement officers are investigating the circumstances of the death of the Azov regiment defender as a result of multiple injuries sustained in captivity.
"The killing of prisoners of war is a gross violation of the Geneva Conventions and is classified as a grave international crime," the PGO notes.
Currently, urgent investigative actions are underway to establish all the circumstances of the brutal crime.
"The information we have in the criminal proceedings clearly indicates that Russian commanders not only fail to prevent ill-treatment of prisoners of war, but also encourage such crimes and directly give the relevant criminal orders," said Prosecutor General Andrii Kostin.
In total, the murder of 64 Ukrainian prisoners of war by the Russian armed forces is currently under investigation. More than 2,200 prisoners of war have been recognized as victims of torture.
Death of "Azov" Oleksandr Ishchenko in Russian captivity
On July 31, 2024, it became known that one of the captured Ukrainian soldiers of the Azov regiment, 55-year-old Oleksandr Ishchenko, died in a Russian detention center.
The Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets sent an immediate letter to the Russian Ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova regarding the death of Mariupol defender Oleksandr Ishchenko in Russian captivity. Lubinets also informed the ICRC and the UN about the tragedy.
Sviatoslav Palamar, deputy commander of the Azov brigade, said that Oleksandr Ishchenko, a prisoner of war of the Azov regiment, died a violent death in Rostov-on-Don, Russia.
