Execution of POWs in Avdiivka and Vesele: Russians pretend to capture then execute prisoners
Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets responded to videos showing the execution of Ukrainian soldiers by Russian army personnel in Avdiivka and near the village of Vesele in Donetsk Oblast, describing the actions of the Russian military as executions.
He said that "Russian soldiers pretend to capture and then execute unarmed defenders of Ukraine."
Lubinets stated that during monitoring, he found reports of the execution of six prisoners from a mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at one of the positions in Avdiivka.
"The defenders were severely wounded, unable to move on their own, and were waiting for evacuation," he noted.
The ombudsman mentioned a second case recorded on video showing the killing of two more Ukrainian warriors near the settlement of Vesele in the Bakhmut Raion.
"The drone camera footage shows how, during the assault on our positions, a Russian soldier shoots at point-blank range first at one captured Ukrainian serviceman and then at another," he said.
Lubinets is convinced that Russian occupiers do not wish to leave Ukrainian fighters alive.
"I emphasize, that the execution of prisoners of war is a gross violation of the norms of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War. It's a serious international crime that will be strictly punished," he stated.
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