War

One thousand thirty-third day. The Ukrainian Ombudsman said that the Russian military shot five captured Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers

Ukraine

The Ombudsman said that the Russian military shot five captured Ukrainians

The Commissioner for Human Rights in Ukraine, Dmitry Lubinets, said that the military armies of the Russian Federation shot five Ukrainians who surrendered.

Lubinets referred to a video posted on social networks by the 110th Brigade. The video was filmed from a drone located at a fairly high altitude above the scene. It's a poor quality black and white recording, with people appearing as white silhouettes against a dark background.

According to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the video shows the execution of five Ukrainian soldiers who were surrounded. They leave the house with their hands raised and are then divided into two groups and allegedly shot.

Lubinets said he would report the incident to the UN and the International Red Cross.

In mid-December, Lubinets stated that in 2024, cases of executions of Ukrainian military personnel by Russians have become more frequent. “Over three years of full-scale war, 177 cases of execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war have been confirmed. The trend has worsened dramatically, with 109 executions officially confirmed in 2024 alone,” he said.

The Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine claimed at the end of November that the number of executions was “growing every month”: in October and November, a total of 13 cases were opened regarding the execution of 54 Ukrainian prisoners of war, which accounted for a third of all such proceedings in 2024. In early October, the department announced that 16 people were killed near the city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region, which became the largest single mass shooting since the beginning of the war.

The UN confirmed the facts of the execution of captured Ukrainians, but in smaller numbers. A report by the Office of the UN High Commissioner, published on October 1, mentioned that 42 people had been shot since the start of the full-scale war. The document also drew attention to the fact that Russian public figures “openly called for inhumane treatment and even execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war, often using inhumane terms in public discourse and through state media.”

The Russian Ministry of Defense usually ignores accusations from the Ukrainian side. From time to time, Russia also accuses the Ukrainian Armed Forces of executing Russian prisoners of war and civilians.

War through the eyes of Meduza readers

Alevtina, Moscow region . I remember how in February 2022 a relative called from Kyiv and asked: what are they saying, will there be a war? And I answered: of course, half of the people will not have relatives and friends in Ukraine, what kind of war? The biggest disappointment is the people in my country. I still can't get used to it.

Where do such cannibalistic and evil beliefs come from? A feeling of powerlessness and a feeling that the crazy have won, and the healthy have to live under their rule. I tell myself that I’ve been through a lot, and this means I’ll survive. That it’s much harder for Ukrainians. That my grandmothers and one grandfather survived Stalin and the war. But I understand that I have never experienced anything worse in my life, and it could still be worse.

My mother-in-law arrived from Donbass <…>, and I had to solve her problems. She borrowed money and sent the child to study at a university in Europe. I hope that [he] will stay there, despite the fact that the separation was very difficult. I’m trying to maintain my sanity and health to see how this regime collapses.