Russian Forces Accused of Executing Ukrainian Prisoners of War
Ukrainian authorities are accusing Russian forces of executing five prisoners of war (POWs) in Kursk Oblast. The claim was made by Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Ombudsman.
A video is circulating on social media that shows unarmed Ukrainian soldiers being killed after they were captured by Russian troops. The video allegedly took place near the village of Kozacha Loknya in Kursk Oblast. However, The Kyiv Independent was unable to verify the claims.
Lubinets said that this incident shows a “cynical disregard for international humanitarian law” by the Russian army. He has written letters to the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross to document the suspected war crime.
This news comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Kursk Oblast on March 12, amid a rapid Russian advance into the region. During his visit, Putin said that Ukrainian military personnel captured in the region would be treated as terrorists.
Ukraine has previously accused Russia of violating the Geneva Conventions, including the execution of 177 captured Ukrainian soldiers by mid-December last year. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine reported a sharp rise in executions of Ukrainian POWs, with 79 extrajudicial killings documented across 24 separate incidents since August last year.
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