Ukrainian law enforcement officers have begun an investigation into a video of the execution of supposedly surrendered Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen in the Pokrovsky district. The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine reports that pre-trial proceedings are being conducted on the basis of violation of the laws and customs of war, involving premeditated murder (Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The prosecutor’s office clarifies that the tragedy occurred near the village of Stepnoye, Pokrovsky district in the Donetsk region.
The Ukrainian telegram channel DeepState reported about the alleged murder of Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers by publishing a video. It is alleged that the Ukrainian military were forced to surrender after they ran out of ammunition. The recording shows how first one and then the second soldier come out of the dugout with their hands raised up and behind their heads. After this, Russian soldiers allegedly open fire on them.
“The video shows how a group of people in Russian uniforms shoot two unarmed servicemen in the uniform of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who were surrendering, at point-blank range,” the Ukrainian prosecutor’s office said.
The Department of Strategic Communications of the Ukrainian Armed Forces stated that, “according to confirmed information,” the Russian military “shot unarmed soldiers.”
According to DeepState, this happened in the area of the village of Stepovoe, northwest of Avdeevka. Russian troops storm the village to cut off supply routes for the Ukrainian army.
Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmitry Lubinets said that he would appeal to the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN. In his opinion, “in the video, everyone can clearly see that the Ukrainian military is doing all the necessary things, which show that they are without weapons, that they are surrendering and do not pose any threat to the Russian military.” Lubinets emphasizes that the Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers “should have been automatically taken prisoner and given the status of prisoners of war.”
The Russian Ministry of Defense has not yet provided any comments on this matter.
Later, the head of the Avdeevka city military administration, Vitaly Barabash, said that Russian soldiers, who allegedly shot two Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers who had surrendered, were killed. “As far as I know, a little later our guys stormed this position, and everyone who was there, of course, was liquidated,” he said on air at the Ukrainian telethon.
In April 2023, the Security Service of Ukraine began a pre-trial investigation into a war crime – the execution of a supposedly Ukrainian military man captured on video. The SBU noted that the war crime captured on video is qualified under the article on violation of the laws and customs of war (Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine confirmed the opening of a criminal case on this fact.
At the beginning of March 2023, the Security Service of Ukraine opened a criminal case under the article “Violation of the laws and customs of war” (Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code) after a video appeared online of the alleged murder of an unarmed prisoner for the slogan “Glory to Ukraine!” He turned out to be a sniper of the fire support company of the 163rd battalion of the 119th separate territorial defense brigade of the Chernigov region, Alexander Matsievsky. Subsequently, Vladimir Zelensky awarded the deceased the title of Hero of Ukraine posthumously.
In July 2022, a video appeared online showing a Russian soldier allegedly torturing a Ukrainian prisoner of war – castrating him with a utility knife. Then the prisoner was shot at point-blank range, and his body was tied to a car and dragged for some time.
Source : Currenttime
