Russians execute another group of Ukrainian POWs - ombudsman

Russian invaders once again executed a group of Ukrainian defenders who intended to surrender as prisoners of war.

Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, reported this via Telegram, Ukrinform saw.

According to his data, another war crime was committed, presumably, on Saturday, February 24, in the Bakhmut district of Donetsk region.

"On the video that we were able to watch we saw that the Ukrainian soldiers were surrendering: they held their hands up and showed they were unarmed, posing no threat. The Russians were supposed to take them captive, but instead they mercilessly shot them dead," the ombudsman noted.

According to Lubinets, it is currently unknown how many Ukrainian soldiers or officers were executed – likely at least seven. It has already been established to which unit the perpetrators belong.

The ombudsman intends to file formal letters with the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross with a request to record and publicly admit that the Russian military is killing Ukrainian prisoners of war.

"For the Russian army, the Geneva Conventions, rules and customs of war mean nothing. They act in line with their unspoken ‘conventions’, ‘rules’ and ‘customs’ – cruelty, insidiousness, and lawlessness. Such murders of prisoners of war are not isolated cases. Perpetrators must be prosecuted," he emphasized.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on February 18, reports emerged of the execution by Russian invaders of eight captured Ukrainian soldiers in Donetsk region: six – near Avdiivka and two – near the village of Vesele, Bakhmut district. The previous six fighters had been seriously wounded and awaiting evacuation.