The Ukrainian human rights ombudsman denounced the alleged execution by Russian forces of nine Ukrainian soldiers in the border region of Kursk.
Dmytro Lubinits said that he had written the United Nations and Red Cross about these allegations, accusing Moscow to have violated “all the rules of war”.
DeepState (a Ukrainian human rights organization) published drone footage purportingly showing dead troops, who it claimed were drone operators. Officials in Russia are yet to comment on these allegations.
Since Kyiv launched its shock invasion earlier this summer, it is believed that Kyiv has deployed thousands of soldiers into the Russian border area.
The images published by DeepState show the dead Ukrainian soldiers stripped down to their underwear, lying face-down in what appears to be farmland near Kursk. The BBC is unable to independently verify the images.
The outlet claimed that the drone operators were overrun by an aggressive Russian advance.
“These actions cannot go unpunished and the enemy must take full responsibility,” wrote Mr Lubinets in a Telegram message. “The international community must not turn a deaf ear to such crimes!”
Kyiv has accused Russia of executing captured Ukrainian soldiers – a crime under the Geneva Convention. Earlier this week, the prosecutor’s office claimed that Russian forces have executed 93 Ukrainians since the start of the conflict.
The report said that an investigation had been launched into reports that 16 Ukrainian soldiers had been executed in the eastern Donetsk area near the city of Pokrovsk, where fighting has been raging for months. Officials said that the reports would mark “the largest mass execution” of Ukrainian prisoner of war by Russian forces since Moscow launched its February 2022 invasion.
The Kremlin has denied that its soldiers committed war crimes in Ukraine.
The reports come at a time when Russian forces continue to assault Ukrainian positions in Kursk. In his nightly address on Saturday from Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukrainian troops had repelled a renewed Russian offensive in the area.
Analysts believe that Kyiv launched this offensive to force Russia to redirect some troops from its offensive against eastern Ukraine. The Institute for the Study of War estimates that 40,000 Russian troops are now active in Kursk, up from 11,000 when Ukrainian forces first crossed the border.
The offensive has not been able to slow down the Russian momentum in eastern Donbas, where relentless attacks have slowly pushed Ukrainian troops backwards.
In his Saturday address, the Ukrainian leader acknowledged “very difficult conditions with harsh enemy action” in both Donetsk ad Zaporizhzhia.
The Russian Defence Ministry announced on Sunday morning that its forces had taken control of the village of Mykhailivka. It is located along a highway close to the important city of Pokrovsk.
Russian forces have been moving towards Pokrovsk, a vital logistics hub, for months. Experts say that if Russia seizes the city, Ukraine’s ability resupply its units in other important towns will be much more difficult.
Overnight, Russian aerial attacks against Ukraine continued. Officials in Kyiv’s air force said that Moscow launched 68 drones, four missiles and four rockets at Ukrainian territory.
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