Ukraine’s human rights commissioner has denounced the alleged execution of two Ukrainian soldiers by Russian troops.
Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights wrote in Telegram app that at least two Ukrainian soldiers were shot dead in the Kursk border region where Ukraine launched incursion in August.
“Prisoners of war must always be protected, particularly from acts of violence, but Russia has once again committed a war crime, which is a serious violation of the Geneva Convention and international humanitarian law,” the ombudsman stated.
Lubinets urged the international community to respond immediately to this act of cruelty and to stop Russia's war crimes. “How many more lives must be lost for the world to act? Russia must be held accountable for every crime and every broken life,” Lubinets emphasized.
Ukraine’s Prosecutor General's Office has launched an investigation into the violation of wartime laws and customs, as well as intentional murder under Ukraine’s Criminal Code. “Intentionally killing prisoners of war is a serious violation of the Geneva Conventions and is considered a grave international crime,” prosecutors stated.
The reports of the execution of two Ukrainian prisoners of war follow the recent killing of another injured Ukrainian soldier by Russian troops on November 9.
