Russian soldiers shot two Ukrainian captives in Donetsk region

According to the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor's Office, the crime occurred on December 27 during attacks on the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Shakhove village. The investigation revealed that representatives of the Russian forces captured two Ukrainian soldiers during their combat mission in one of the positions.

Threatening with firearms, the occupiers forced one of the captives to undress partially, and then shot both disarmed soldiers. After the murder, the occupiers removed the clothes of the second deceased defender.

"An intended murder of prisoners of war is a gross violation of the Geneva Conventions and qualifies as a serious international crime," the Prosecutor's Office notes.

The Donetsk Regional Prosecutor's Office undertook the criminal proceedings under Part 2 Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - a war crime resulting in a person's death.

Priority investigative actions are underway to establish the circumstances of the incident and the identities of the individuals involved in the crime. Investigators of the Main Directorate of the Security Service of Ukraine in Donetsk and Luhansk regions are conducting the pre-trial investigation.

Other Russian war crimes

Russian troops regularly violate the international humanitarian law by committing war crimes on the territory of Ukraine.

On November 19, occupiers shot five Ukrainian prisoners of war near Kotlyne village in the Pokrovskyi district of the Donetsk region. The defenders were disarmed and lying face down on the ground when one of the Russian soldiers opened fire on them with an automatic rifle.

Similar crimes are recorded in the Zaporizhzhia region. On November 15, occupiers killed two Ukrainian soldiers near Zatyshshia village, and on November 16, Russian forces again shot captives in the Huliaipole direction.

Another such crime was committed on November 14, when occupiers executed three captured Ukrainian soldiers.