Law enforcers have recorded over 50 cases of executions of Ukrainian prisoners since March 2022
Since March 2022, 54 cases of executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war by the Russian troops have been reported, Yuriy Belousov, head of the Department of the Prosecutor General's Office for Combating Crimes Committed in the Context of Armed Conflict, told public broadcaster Suspilne.
In total, law enforcement officers are investigating the murder of 54 Ukrainian defenders in 27 criminal proceedings over the execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
Regarding the latest video of the execution of Ukrainian prisoners, which appeared on social media on April 7, Belousov said that the crime scene near Krynky in Kherson Oblast had been tentetively confirmed, but the details were still being checked.
In particular, investigators are checking the involvement of the 328th and 345th regiments of the 104th Guards Division of the Russian Airborne Forces in the crime.
According to him, in cases of executions, not only commanders of Russian units are responsible, but also the highest military and political leadership.
"Because this is not an isolated case, but evidence of the policy of the Russian Federation," said the representative of the Prosecutor General's Office.
He also said that the court has already sentenced the first Russian soldiers for the execution of a Ukrainian serviceman in Chernihiv Oblast. However, because prosecutors and investigators do not have access to the crime scene and the opportunity to examine the body, the investigation is complicated.
Executions of Ukrainian prisoners
On the evening of February 17, Russians posted a video online showing the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers. Some of them were recognized by their relatives: they were Ukrainian defenders who could not be evacuated from the Zenit position in Avdiivka during the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops.
The next day, it became known about the shooting near the village of Vesele, Bakhmut district. The drone footage shows how a Russian soldier shot two prisoners of war during an assault on Ukrainian positions. Donetsk Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation into both cases.
On February 20, a video of the shooting of three captured Ukrainian defenders by the Russian army near the village of Robotyne, Zaporizhzhya Oblast, was shared online.
Another case of execution was recorded by a drone camera, the video of which was published by the monitoring platform DeepState. It shows how Russian soldiers first ordered Ukrainian defenders to get out of the trench. Then, after gathering all the defenders in one place and moving a few meters away, the Russian military fired automatic bursts at them.
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