Ukrainian authorities have documented evidence of 93 Ukrainian prisoners of war being executed by Russian forces since the beginning of the invasion, a senior law enforcement official said Wednesday.
Yuriy Belousov, head of the war crimes investigation department at the Prosecutor-General’s Office, revealed the figure during a televised appearance on the Yedyniy Novyny broadcast.
“We have information about the death of 93 of our soldiers who were executed on the battlefield,” Belousov stated. He noted that about 80% of the executions occurred this year, with a significant increase observed since November.
The announcement comes days after the Prosecutor-General’s Office launched an investigation into what it described as the “largest mass execution” of Ukrainian POWs by Russian troops. The incident, allegedly involving 16 prisoners, took place near villages in the Donetsk region.
Videos circulating on social media appear to show Ukrainian soldiers being captured and subsequently shot, though these have not been independently verified.
Ukraine’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, said he has contacted the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross regarding the deaths, citing violations of the Geneva Conventions.
In March, a UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission report documented the execution of at least 32 Ukrainian POWs in 12 separate cases from December 2023 to February 2024.
The execution of surrendered soldiers is considered a war crime under international humanitarian law.
A VOA Story
