Russian forces shot six Ukrainian soldiers who were taken prisoner in the Donetsk region, the Ukrainian prosecutor's office said on Thursday. An investigation has been launched into this matter. Ukrainian human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinec said that the lack of accountability meant that such crimes “have acquired a systemic character.”
“According to initial reports, during the attack on Ukrainian army positions in the Donetsk Oblast, the occupiers took six soldiers prisoner and then shot them. (…) Investigative activities are ongoing to determine all the circumstances of this crime and the people responsible for committing it.” – said the office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine in a post on Telegram on Thursday.
“The recording stops when the seventh soldier lies on the ground”
Ukrainian human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinec said that another video showing the execution of unarmed Ukrainian prisoners of war has been circulating on the Internet in recent months.
Ukrainian soldiers in Donetsk24th Mechanized Brigade of Ukrainian Armed Forces
“In the recording, the occupiers recorded their own crime – the shooting of six Ukrainian soldiers who were taken prisoner. The recording ends when the seventh soldier lies on the ground. His fate is unknown,” the spokesman wrote on Telegram.
Lubinec noted that the recording shows how each of the captured soldiers was shot in front of their comrades in arms. The Russian military ordered them to “lie down and shut up.” Later – as Lubinec reports – the Russian can be seen shooting at the prisoners.
The killing of prisoners of war violates the Geneva Conventions and is classified as a serious war crime. “The lack of accountability has made the crimes take on a systemic nature,” said the human rights ombudsman.
Main photo source: 24th Mechanized Brigade of Ukrainian Armed Forces