US State Department reacts to execution of 16 Ukrainian soldiers
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller (Getty Images)
The United States currently lacks independent information to confirm reports of the mass execution of Ukrainian prisoners by Russian forces. However, it emphasizes Russia's systematic atrocities since the beginning of its aggression against Ukraine, citing the US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller during a briefing.
"We have seen the reports [about the execution of Ukrainian POWs]. I don’t have any independent information with which to confirm that. I think it’s appropriate that Ukraine conduct the investigation," he said.
Miller also said that Russia has been committing horrific actions since the start of the conflict.
Execution of Ukrainian soldiers
Unfortunately, cases of the execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russian occupiers are becoming more frequent. Recently, brutal videos of such crimes have regularly circulated online.
On October 1, reports emerged online about the possible execution of 16 Ukrainian soldiers by Russian occupiers. According to preliminary unconfirmed information, this war crime may have occurred in the area of the villages of Mykolayivka and Sukhyi Yar near Pokrovsk.
At the beginning of September, a video surfaced on Telegram showing Russian soldiers executing three Ukrainian prisoners. The Ukrainian defenders were emerging from a basement with their hands raised, after which the occupiers forced them to lie on the ground and killed them with gunshots.
