“Last week, it was officially reported about at least two cases of execution by Russian forces of captured Ukrainian soldiers, in particular in the Pokrovsky direction”, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
According to preliminary data, in November 2024, Russian troops stormed the positions of the Defense Forces of Ukraine near the village of Petrivka, Pokrovsky district – as a result of the attack, five soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were forced to retreat and hide in a private house.
“After surrounding the residence, the Russian military took the Ukrainian defenders prisoner. They were forced to leave their shelter unarmed and lie down on the ground. In violation of the norms of international humanitarian law, the occupiers shot Ukrainian prisoners with automatic weapons,” the message reads.
Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin on October 15 called the killing of Ukrainian servicemen in captivity a purposeful policy of the Russian Federation.
Reports of murders, torture and ill-treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war are regularly reported. In general, Ukrainian law enforcement agencies have information about the murder of at least 93 Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russian soldiers, reported on October 4, the representative of the OGP, Yuriy Belousov.
According to him, 80% of cases of executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war were recorded in 2024, but the trend began to appear in November 2023, when “changes took place in the attitude of Russian servicemen towards our prisoners of war for the worse.”
The US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) says it has observed an increase in the number of executions by the Russian military of Ukrainian prisoners of war, and points out that Russian commanders are likely “tolerating, encouraging or directly ordering” the executions.