UN Report: Russia Executed and Tortured Ukrainian Prisoners of War
The United Nations has published a report on the activities of Russian forces in eastern Ukraine. According to the report, Russia executed over 30 Ukrainian prisoners of war during the winter months of 2023-24 alone. Specifically, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights confirmed three incidents where Russian military personnel executed seven Ukrainian servicemembers on the battlefield, as reported by Politico.
From December to February, when Russian troops under President Vladimir Putin were engaged in combat advancing in Avdiivka, Donetsk Oblast, and attempting to seize Robotine in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, dozens of videos depicting the executions of unarmed Ukrainian military personnel surfaced on social media.
In eight of these cases, Russian military personnel killed Ukrainian prisoners of war who had surrendered their weapons or used captured Ukrainian prisoners of war as "human shields."
"As of 29 February 2024, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights received corroborating information about one of the videos. In this video, a group of armed Russian soldiers stands 15–20 meters behind three Ukrainian servicemembers kneeling with their hands behind their heads. Seconds later, smoke appears from the weapons of the Russian soldiers, and the Ukrainian servicemembers fall to the ground. Subsequently, one of the armed soldiers approaches the bodies and shoots one of the soldiers lying on the ground," the report states.
During the winter, Russia also released 60 Ukrainian prisoners of war. One of them confirmed that the incident shown in the video occurred near Robotine in December 2023, and the killed servicemembers were from his unit.
In another instance, three Ukrainian prisoners of war captured by Russian forces were executed in early January 2024 in Zaporizhzhia.
"According to a witness, two Ukrainian soldiers were executed on the spot after surrendering. Russian military personnel killed the third Ukrainian prisoner of war who detonated a mine when Russian military personnel forced him to perform demining operations," the report states.
The released prisoners also told the UN that Russian forces tortured them while in captivity.
"In one case, a Ukrainian prisoner of war recounted being captured by Russian armed forces in November 2023 in Zaporizhzhia Oblast and taken to a shed on private property, where three Russian military personnel interrogated and tortured him to obtain military information. The perpetrators kicked him in the face and torso with such force that his ribs were broken, suffocated him with a plastic bag, threatened to shoot and cut off his ear while holding a knife against it," the UN reports.
According to the report, 39 out of 60 prisoners of war also reported experiencing sexual violence during internment, including attempted rape, threats of rape and castration, beatings, or the use of electric shocks to their genitals, as well as repeated forced nudity, including during interrogations and for tattoo checks.
It is worth noting that The Gaze extensively covered the horrors faced by Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russian captivity and the inhumane behaviour of Russian occupiers.