United Nations Takes Note of Russian ‘Alarming’ Murders of Ukrainian POWs; Ukrainian Officials Identify Severed Head of Murdered Ukrainian Soldier

I’ve been writing about the latest Russian war against Ukraine since Moscow’s cutthroats invaded Ukraine in 2014 and occupied Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk. War is hell but Russia’s behavior in Ukraine during the past decade at least is appalling and inhuman.

Two categories of premeditated Russian crimes against humanity, specifically the Ukrainian part of it, stand out as especially heartless and merciless. One is its rape, theft and killing of children. The other one, which I’m addressing in this blog, is its execution of captured Ukrainian soldiers, in other words prisoners of war who are granted internationally recognized protection. International humanitarian law prohibits the killing of prisoners of war and the wounded and regards it as a war crime.

The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission has taken note of these particularly heinous crimes.

It recorded an “alarming rise” in reported executions of Ukrainian soldiers captured by the Russian cutthroats during the war in recent months, it said on Monday, February 3.

The mission in Ukraine said it had received reports of 79 executions in 24 separate incidents since the end of August 2024 – a half a year.

“Many Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered or were in physical custody of the Russian armed forces were shot dead on the spot. Witness accounts also described the killings of unarmed and injured Ukrainian soldiers,” the UN mission said in a statement.

Commenting on the report, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the Russian atrocities demand urgent international action and condemnation.

“Russia’s horrific executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war demonstrate that Ukraine confronts true beasts,” he said on X. “We need new and effective international legal tools, and concrete steps to hold the perpetrators accountable.”

The Russian defense ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment, the UN admitted naively.

The UN body obtained and analyzed video and photographic material published by Ukrainian and Russian sources showing executions or dead bodies and conducted detailed interviews with witnesses. It said the reported executions took place in areas where Russian offensive operations were underway. Some Russian cutthroats have been seen taking selfies of themselves killing Ukrainian POWs.

Danielle Bell, head of the mission, said some Russian officials “have explicitly called for inhumane treatment, and even execution” of captured Ukrainian soldiers.

The Ukrainian prosecutor’s office earlier said it was investigating dozens of cases of executions of Ukrainian military personnel by Russian forces. Earlier, Russians were recording beheading and castrating Ukrainian soldiers, the latter crime was perpetrated to reduce the Ukrainian birthrate.

How can the Ukrainian government sit across a negotiating table and talk with them about a cessation of hostilities? How can President Trump and Secretary of State Rubio pay the Russians any respect. They wouldn’t show any deference to Nazis in World War Two, would they?

FOLLOW UP: The Kyiv Independent reported that Ukrainian officials identified the body of a beheaded Ukrainian soldier. A photograph, circulated on the Internet by Russians shows the severed head of a Ukrainian soldier being held, presumably, by a Russian soldier.

The National Police will conduct investigations to clarify the circumstances of the incident, locate the body, and gather further details, Artur Dobroserdov, the commissioner for Persons Missing in Special Circumstances, said on Feb. 3.

“We urge you to refrain from spreading unverified information and trust only official sources of information,” he added.

Ukrainian authorities have documented widespread violations of the Geneva Conventions by Russia, including the execution of 177 captured Ukrainian soldiers as of mid-December 2024. Cases of Russian forces decapitating Ukrainian troops have also surfaced in June and August 2024.