Ukraine documents 177 POW executions by Russian forces as war crime videos surge
Russian forces increasingly shoot and share their execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war videos, with confirmed cases more than doubling in 2024 amid international inaction.
Since 2022, some 177 cases of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) being executed by Moscow troops have been confirmed, Ukraine’s Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets told Ukrainska Pravda in an interview.
The Geneva Conventions explicitly prohibit the killing of unarmed POWs, categorizing such acts as grave breaches of international law. Ukrainian authorities have reported numerous incidents where captured soldiers were executed after being interrogated or while they posed no threat.
As of 13 December, a total of 177 Ukrainian prisoners of war have been confirmed executed during the three years of Russia’s aggression. Of these, 109 executions were officially confirmed in 2024.
“We can see that the trend has drastically worsened,” Lubinets stated.
He explained that in previous years, information about such incidents was primarily gathered through intelligence and law enforcement channels, and it wasn’t always possible to verify the details. However, in 2024, many of these executions were captured on video.
“Not all cases are officially recorded. Often, I receive information that we cannot fully verify, but the facts clearly point to these events occurring,” Lubinets said.
He added that the Russian military’s sharing of execution videos on social media might be an attempt to make Russian soldiers complicit in atrocities, which could discourage them from surrendering, as they might fear repercussions or be held accountable for their actions.
These actions are also intended to send a message to the world.
“They want to show the democratic world, ‘We’re doing this, and you won’t do anything about it. There will be no consequences,'” Lubinets explained.
He also noted that the International Committee of the Red Cross has never publicly or privately accused Russia of killing or torturing Ukrainian prisoners of war.
Earlier, Lubinets said that over 16,000 Ukrainian civilians remain in Russian captivity. Only 168 individuals of them were freed.
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