The United Nations on Thursday accused the armies of Moscow and Kiev, which have been in conflict since February 24, 2022, of summarily executing dozens of prisoners of war during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“We are deeply concerned about the summary execution of 25 Russian prisoners of war and Russians expelled from combat”like “15 Ukrainian POWs”said Matilda Bogner, head of the United Nations Human Rights Observation Mission in Ukraine.
According to Bogner, the UN has documented executions of Russians by Ukrainian forces, “often” carried out “immediately after capture on the battlefield”.
The UN is aware of five investigations conducted by Kiev involving 22 victims, but “is not aware of any prosecution of the perpetrators” of these crimes, he added.
Regarding the executions of 15 Ukrainian prisoners of war “shortly after their capture” by Russian forces, 11 of them were committed by the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, Bogner indicated.
Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of mistreating prisoners, which are war crimes since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Wagner group is at the forefront of the battle for the city of Bakhmout, the epicenter of hostilities in eastern Ukraine.
In early March, a video showing the alleged execution of a Ukrainian prisoner of war by Russian soldiers caused a stir in Ukraine.
In November, the Kremlin was outraged by two videos showing the alleged execution of a dozen Russian soldiers who had just surrendered to Ukrainian forces.
Source: DN
