Human Rights Watch said Ukrainian soldiers were “shot in cold blood.” The US-based organization has called for the alleged executions to be investigated for war crimes.
Russian forces would have executed at least 15 Ukrainian soldiers who had been trying to surrender since the beginning of December 2023, according to a recent report from Human Rights Watch (HRW).
The US-based organization called for the alleged executions to be investigated as war crimes.
“ Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, its forces have committed numerous heinous war crimes said Belkis Wille, deputy director for crises and conflict at HRW.
“ Also part of this shameful legacy is the summary execution, or killing, of Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered and were shot in cold blood, which is expressly prohibited by international humanitarian law.. »
Drone footage analyzed for report
HRW analyzed drone images posted on social media on December 2, December 27 and February 25.
In the videos, Ukrainian soldiers appear to have surrendered, but were shot dead by Russian troops. HRW said it could not verify the location of some incidents.
Given that they were no longer participating in combat, international humanitarian law states that men are not targets and therefore cannot be shot.
The Geneva Conventions specifically state that fighters who are out of combat for reasons such as surrender, injury or capture must be treated humanely and are no longer legal targets for attacks.
On February 25, the video watch at least seven soldiers Ukrainian removing their bulletproof vest. One of them also took off his helmet. They all clashed as five Russian soldiers pointed their guns at them. Six of the Ukrainians did not move after being shot. One of them tried to escape before being shot dead. This incident occurred in the village ofIvanivske, in the eastern Donetsk region.
HRW was able to differentiate Russian soldiers from Ukrainian soldiers en identifying the tape on their arms: Ukrainian troops wear blue and Russians white or red.
Ukrainian prisoners subjected to torture
The United Nations indicated in March that Ukrainian prisoners of war held in Russia had been subjected to acts of torture, including repeated beatings, electric shocks and mock executions.
Some were even victims of sexual violenceaccording to the report.
The UN also recorded “ credible allegations » according to which the Russian troops reportedly executed at least 32 Ukrainian prisoners of war.
A UN report released a year ago revealed how Russian troops and the Wagner Group executed 15 Ukrainian prisoners of war during the first year of the large-scale invasion.
The Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine has announcement on April 9 that he was leading 27 criminal investigations into the execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
Russian President Vladimir Putin denied that his government committed war crimes against Ukrainians.
“ While each of these cases is terrifying, perhaps most damning is the fact that, in at least one case, Russian forces explicitly gave orders to kill soldiers instead of letting them surrender, thereby approving war crimes ”Wille said.
