Russians execute two captured Ukrainian defenders in Donetsk Oblast
Russian forces captured and executed two Ukrainian soldiers near Udachne in Donetsk Oblast’s Pokrovsk district on May 22, prompting a war crime investigation, Ukraine’s Office of the Prosecutor General reported.
During an assault on Ukrainian Defense Forces’ positions near Udachne, Russian troops overran a post manned by four Ukrainian soldiers, capturing two and shooting them unarmed in a forest strip with automatic weapons. The fate of the other two defenders remains unknown.
The OPG launched a pretrial investigation under Article 438, Part 2 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code for war crimes causing death, with urgent investigative actions underway to establish details and identify perpetrators.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion, at least 268 Ukrainian POWs have been killed. The number of probable executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war is growing every year:
- 2022 — 8 criminal proceedings into the murder of 57 Ukrainian prisoners of war.
- 2023 — 8 criminal proceedings into the murder of 11 Ukrainian prisoners of war.
- 2024 — 39 criminal proceedings into the murder of 149 Ukrainian prisoners of war.
- Since the beginning of 2025, there have been 20 criminal proceedings into the murder of 51 Ukrainian prisoners of war.
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