Russia executes more and more Ukrainian prisoners of war

Ukrainian sniper Oleksandr Matsievsky was captured by the Russians in the first year of the full-scale invasion. Later, a video emerged showing him smoking his last cigarette in a forest, apparently next to a grave he had been forced to dig.

“Glory to Ukraine!” he tells his captors. Moments later, shots ring out and he falls dead.

Its execution is one of many.

In October this year, nine captured Ukrainian soldiers were shot dead by Russian forces in the Kursk region. Ukrainian prosecutors investigating the case including a photograph showing half-naked bodies lying on the ground. This photo was enough for one of the victims, drone operator Ruslan Holubenko, to be identified by his parents.

“I recognized him by his underwear.” his distraught mother told him local announcer Suspilne Chernihiv. “I bought it for him before a trip to the sea. I also knew that he had been shot in the shoulder. You could see it in the photo.”

The list of executions goes on. Ukrainian prosecutors are investigating information of beheadings and a sword used to kill a Ukrainian soldier with his hands tied behind his back.

In another case, a video It showed 16 Ukrainian soldiers apparently lined up and then gunned down with automatic weapons after emerging from a forest to surrender.

Some of the executions were filmed by Russian forces themselves, while others were observed by Ukrainian drones flying over the site.

The murders captured in these videos often take place in forests or fields that lack distinctive features, making it difficult to confirm their exact location. BBC Verify, however, has been able to confirm in several cases: like a decapitation – that the victims are wearing Ukrainian uniforms and that the videos are recent.

Ukrainian prosecutors say at least 147 Ukrainian prisoners of war have been executed by Russian forces since the start of the full-scale invasion, 127 of them this year.

“The upward trend is very clear, very obvious,” says Yuri Belousov, head of the War Department of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine.

“The executions became systemic since November last year and have continued throughout this year. Unfortunately, their number has increased especially this summer and autumn. This tells us that they are not isolated cases. They are occurring in vast areas and “They have clear signs to be part of a policy: there is evidence that instructions are being issued in this regard.

International humanitarian law – in particular the Third Geneva Convention – offers protection to prisoners of war and executing them is a war crime.

Despite this, Ramzan Kadyrov, the strongman leader of Russian Chechnya, briefly ordered his commanders involved in the Ukrainian war “so as not to take prisoners.”

Rachel Denber, deputy director of the Europe and Central Asia Division at Human Rights Watch, says there is no shortage of evidence to support allegations that Russian troops executed Ukrainian prisoners of war. According to her, impunity plays a key role and the Russian military has some serious questions to answer.

“What instructions do these units receive, either formally or informally, from their commanders? Are their commanders being quite clear about what the Geneva Conventions say about the treatment of prisoners of war? What are Russian military commanders telling them? to their units about their conduct? What measures are they taking to investigate these cases? And if superiors are not investigating, or are not taking measures to prevent such conduct, are they aware that they are also responsible? criminally responsible and may be considered responsible? she asks.

So far, there has been nothing to suggest that Russia is formally investigating allegations that its forces have been executing Ukrainian prisoners of war. Even mentioning similar accusations is punished with long prison sentences in Russia.

According to Vladimir PutinRussian forces have “always” treated Ukrainian prisoners of war “strictly in accordance with international legal documents and international conventions.”

ukrainian forces have also been accused to execute Russian prisoners of war, but the number of such claims has been much smaller.

Yuri Belousov says that the Ukrainian prosecutor’s office takes these allegations “very seriously” and is investigating them, but so far no charges have been brought against anyone.

According to Human Rights WatchSince the full-scale invasion began in February 2022, Russian forces have committed “a litany of violations, including those that should be investigated as war crimes or crimes against humanity.”

The Russian military’s record of abuse is such that some Ukrainian soldiers prefer death to capture.

“He told me: Mom, I will never give up, never. Forgive me, I know you will cry, but I don’t want to be tortured,” says Ruslan Holubenko’s mother. Her son is still officially listed as missing in action, and she’s hoping against hope.

“I will do everything possible and impossible to get my son back. I keep looking at this photo. Maybe he is just unconscious? I want to believe, I don’t want to think that he is gone.”