Kyiv States Russians Executed 345 Ukrainian POWs

In addition to a range of crimes against humanity that the Russians have been known to commit during the latest chapter in its centuries-long wars against Ukrainians, since February 2022 they have been known to execute hundreds of Ukrainian prisoners of war by firing squad, impulsive killings and other murderous means such as decapitation.

Recently, Ukrainian law enforcement authorities launched a pre-trial war crimes investigation following reports that Russian forces captured, interrogated, and executed a Ukrainian soldier in the Donetsk region, the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office reported on July 24, according to Ukrainian and non-Ukrainian news media.

The incident occurred on July 13 of this year at approximately 2:42 PM near the village of Yalta in the Komarska rural community, where Russian forces had captured a soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to preliminary findings cited by prosecutors, one Russian commander issued an order to execute the prisoner following an interrogation, after which another Russian soldier shot the Ukrainian defender with a firearm.

Under the procedural guidance of the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office, the Main Directorate of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) for Donetsk and Luhansk regions is conducting urgent investigative and operational actions to establish all circumstances of the incident and identify the specific Russian servicemen involved.

The case has been officially registered under Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which specifies criminal liability for violations of the laws and customs of war that result in human death.

Summary execution of prisoners of war is considered a severe crime by the UN and other international bodies. It breaks the rules of the International Committee of the Red Cross and international law.

According to the Geneva Convention, Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, color, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria.

To this end, the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons: Violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;

Ukrainian prosecutors emphasized that the intentional killing of a captive constitutes a grave international crime, as law enforcement agencies continue to document and investigate systematic abuses against Ukrainian servicemen along the frontline.

The execution in Donetsk highlights a pattern of institutional impunity for battlefield atrocities within the Russian military, where commanders facing war crime charges are routinely integrated into political leadership, as was seen recently when Russian officer Nursultan Mussagaliev secured a State Duma candidacy for the ruling United Russia party after ordering the torture and killing of a civilian in Bucha.

Based on internal calculations, Russian forces have executed at least 345 Ukrainian service members who surrendered and killed 375 Ukrainian citizens whose deaths in Russian captivity have been verified.

Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets made the statement during a press conference at Ukrinform focused on Russian disinformation concerning prisoners of war, exchanges, and people missing in action.

According to Lubinets, the 345 documented executions involved Ukrainian soldiers who had clearly surrendered, including by laying down their weapons, raising their hands, or lying on the ground to demonstrate that they were no longer taking part in hostilities.

Lubinets added that Russian troops would inspect the surrendered soldiers and, in some documented cases, order them to remove their clothing before shooting them at close range.

He pointed out that the killing of service members who have surrendered constitutes a separate war crime.

Relatives of killed Ukrainian soldiers substantiated the war crimes by Russian cutthroats. In one incident, Lyudmyla Dubnytska received from her husband what turned out to be his last message, in which he told her he was likely about to be captured by Russian forces. Two days later, she recognized his body in a video on social media of a group of killed Ukrainian troops.

Her husband, Andriy Dubnytsky, is among hundreds of prisoners of war that Kyiv says Russian soldiers have executed since it launched its full-scale war in 2022. The exact number is unknown, varying according to Ukrainian and international sources, but Kyiv claims the executions reveal a deliberate criminal policy by Moscow.

Dubnytsky was 25 when he was killed in February 2024 as Ukrainian troops retreated from Avdiivka, an epicenter of fighting in eastern Ukraine, captured by Russia.

Wounded during an attempt to withdraw, a soldier from the 110th brigade stayed at his position with five comrades, four of whom were also injured. Despite their dire situation, they were hoping to be evacuated.

When he called his wife on February 15, “he was extremely nervous and was crying,” Dubnytska, 27, told the AFP news agency. To keep their spirits up, the couple vowed to have a son when reunited, a sibling for their young daughter. Several hours later, he sent her a message saying they would probably be captured. Then, he stopped answering.

A video released by Ukrainian media reveals what likely happened next: fellow soldier Ivan Zhytnyk was video-calling a relative when a Russian soldier ordered him to lay down his arms. Two days later, Lyudmyla saw a video on Russian social media of five bodies lying in a frozen puddle, stained red by blood. She recognized the tattoo of a cross on one of the men's hands: her husband.

The 110th brigade confirmed that several troops, including Dubnytsky and Zhytnyk, had been killed, accusing Russian forces of violating an agreement to evacuate them. Ukrainian prosecutors opened an investigation into the "shooting of unarmed Ukrainian prisoners of war." The incident is not isolated.

Several Ukrainian officials told AFP that Russian troops increased the rate of “executions” starting in 2023.

“This stems from a Russian policy that has effectively encouraged and enabled such crimes, with commanders then issuing orders to that effect,” Andriy Atamantchuk, an official with the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office overseeing the issue of POW executions, said.

Moscow has always denied these accusations.