HRW confirms execution of Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered by Russian soldiers this winter
Kyiv • UNN
According to an investigation by Human Rights Watch, since December 2023, Russian soldiers have executed at least 15 Ukrainian soldiers who tried to surrender, and possibly 6 more.
The international human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) has confirmed that since the beginning of December 2023, the Russian military has executed at least 15 Ukrainian soldiers who tried to surrender. Also, Russian army soldiers may have executed six more Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered or had already surrendered. This is stated in the report of the organization for April 2, DW writes, reports UNN.
Details
HRW investigated three cases of apparent summary executions of at least 12 Ukrainian soldiers by reviewing and analyzing drone footage posted online on December 2 and 27, and February 25, 2024. In these cases, as noted, Ukrainian soldiers showed a clear intention to surrender.
Human Rights Watch identified the location of two of the three incidents based on the video footage, but due to the lack of geographic detail in the video, was unable to determine the exact location of the third incident. Human rights activists were also unable to determine which party operated the drones that videotaped the incidents.
Human rights activists also investigated a fourth case by analyzing another video posted on social media on February 19, in which two Russian soldiers shoot three unarmed Ukrainian soldiers who had surrendered. Although the account that posted the video indicated the location of the incident, HRW was unable to confirm the location on its own.
As for the fifth case, the investigation relied on an interview with a Ukrainian soldier posted on the Telegram channel on February 18, as well as detailed media coverage, including interviews with family members of one of the deceased. Information gathered by human rights activists indicates that six Ukrainian soldiers were executed on , although the circumstances of the execution were less clear.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, its troops have committed many horrific war crimes. This shameful legacy includes summary executions - or the killing of Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered and wounded soldiers who were shot in cold blood, which is expressly prohibited by international humanitarian law
On April 22, human rights activists wrote a letter to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu asking for detailed information about the incidents described above. However, this appeal remained unanswered.
At the end of March, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine released a reporton the human rights situation in Ukraine covering the period from December 1, 2023 to February 29, 2024. The report emphasizes that Russia continues to brutally torture and execute Ukrainian prisoners of war.
The head of the Department for Combating Crimes Committed in the Context of Armed Conflict of the Prosecutor General's Office, Yuriy Belousov, said that as of today, there are 54 Ukrainian prisoners of warexecuted by the Russian military.
