The DIU recorded more than 150 cases of executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russians
Military intelligence has recorded more than 150 cases of executions of Ukrainian defenders who were captured by Russians. This was reported to by the press service of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense.
The DIU stated that the number of executions on the battlefield is increasing: in many cases, direct orders to kill prisoners were recorded. These crimes are not isolated incidents, but part of a deliberate policy on the part of the Russian leadership.
The intelligence service emphasized that this trend is also confirmed by the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry into the situation in Ukraine. In its report of March 19, 2025, the commission recorded an increase in the number of cases in which the Russian military deliberately killed or injured Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered or tried to surrender.
"Several Russian deserters confirmed that they had received orders not to take prisoners but to kill them. One of them quoted the deputy brigade commander: "We don't need prisoners – shoot them on the spot," the document quoted by the GUR says .
The UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, Dr. Morris Tidball-Bintz, confirmed on CNN that executions would not have taken place in such numbers and frequency without orders or consent from the highest military command.
- Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, 75 criminal proceedings have been initiated over the killing of 268 Ukrainian prisoners of war.
- On May 23, it became known that the occupiers executed two Ukrainian soldiers in the Pokrovske direction.