ICC could probe Russia’s use of POWs as "human shield" - ombudsman

Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said this on the air of the national telethon, answering a question about a video showing Russian soldiers hiding behind Ukrainian POWs during combat, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"I thank the Prosecutor General's Office and the Prosecutor General personally that criminal proceedings have already been initiated. We will ask that information on this fact be, among other things, forwarded to the experts from the International Criminal Court, so that they also launch a separate investigation into the violation of international humanitarian law by the Russian military, namely the commission of a war crime," he said.

He noted that the video, released on December 13, for the first time confirms reports that the Russians use Ukrainian POWs on the battlefield against the Ukrainian Army.

According to him, this is a direct violation of international humanitarian law, namely Article 23 of the Geneva Convention, which directly prohibits even holding prisoners of war near the line of contact.

The ombudsman expressed the opinion that the use of Ukrainian prisoners of war for the advancement of Russian troops is of a systemic nature.

"This is not the first report that we have received regarding the exploitation of our prisoners of war in different ways. For example, we are aware that several times, POWs were forced onto minefields and that their rights are violated in other ways. This is systemic," stressed Lubinets.

The Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights said he had penned a letter to the ICRC regarding the video in question.

"This is the only international organization that is supposed to record violations of the rights of the military. And I do not expect any public position, unfortunately. Although, in my opinion, they should have publicly stated yesterday that Russia violated the Geneva Conventions. You can see everything there on the video, it can be seen there even by the uniform, and it can be seen that it’s an actual combat zone," he said.

According to the ombudsman, he and his Office are in constant contact with the ICRC.

"Even today I corresponded with the head of the ICRC mission in Ukraine. The problem is that we do not see a change in approaches. And I will again and again demand from the ICRC that they call a spade a spade. If, for example, the Russians use Ukrainian prisoners of war in hostilities, it is necessary to speak up about it publicly. And if Ukraine fulfills the entire spectrum of the Geneva Conventions, it is also necessary to talk about it publicly," Lubinets believes.

As reported, Radio Svoboda received a video shot by an UAV operate by a Ukrainian military unit deployed in Zaporizhzhia region, showing a group of Russian soldiers wielding automatic rifles is walking toward Ukrainian positions. In front of them walk unarmed men with their hands up.

The Prosecutor's Office opened a criminal case based on the fact that the Russian military used Ukrainian POWs as "human shield" during the assault effort.