79 cases of executions of Ukrainian prisoners have been recorded by UN since August
Since August 2024, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has recorded 79 cases of executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war in 24 separate incidents.
This is reported by Censor.NET with reference to ZN.UA.
The mission expressed concern about the sharp increase in the number of such reports.
As noted, the Russians shot many Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered on the spot, and there are also reports of unarmed and wounded Ukrainian soldiers being killed.
In addition, the Mission documented the execution of a "wounded and incapacitated Russian soldier" by Ukrainian soldiers last year.
"These incidents did not happen out of the blue. Public figures in the Russian Federation have openly called for the inhumane treatment and even execution of captured Ukrainian servicemen. Combined with broad amnesty laws, such statements may incite or encourage unlawful behavior," said Head of Mission Danielle Bell.
According to her, calls for the execution of Ukrainian servicemen should be investigated. She emphasized that commanders must give clear orders to protect and treat all captured soldiers humanely.
International humanitarian law prohibits ordering that no one be left alive, threatening the enemy with it, or conducting hostilities on that basis. The announcement that "there will be no mercy" is a serious violation of international humanitarian law and a war crime, the Mission emphasized.
As a reminder, during a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council, Acting Permanent Representative of Ukraine to International Organizations in Vienna, Viktoriia Kuvshynnykova, called on the international community, including both the political and executive leadership of the OSCE, to respond appropriately to Russian war crimes - the executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
Earlier, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets reported that since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, 177 cases of executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war have been documented .
