Russians shot Ukrainian soldiers as they surrendered on 24 February – video

Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada (Parliamentary) Commissioner for Human Rights, has reported that the Russians shot at least seven soldiers of the Defence Forces of Ukraine as they  were surrendering in the Bakhmut district on 24 February.

Source: Lubinets on Telegram

Quote: “Another war crime was likely committed on 24 February 2024 in the Bakhmut district. In the video we got hold of, the Ukrainian soldiers can be seen giving themselves up into captivity: their hands were raised, they were showing they were unarmed and posed no threat. The Russians should have captured them, but instead, they shot them without mercy.

The exact number of the Ukrainians shot by the Russians is unknown, but there were probably at least seven of them. These were soldiers of the Defence Forces of Ukraine.”

Details: Lubinets added that he has information on which part of the Russian army the Russian soldiers who shot the Ukrainian soldiers were from.

“This incident must be documented as another violation of the norms of international humanitarian law by Russia. I will be sending official letters to the UN and the Red Cross immediately so that these organisations record and publicly recognise that Russian soldiers are killing Ukrainian prisoners of war,” Lubinets wrote.

Update: The Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine reported that the incident occurred during the Russian assault on the Ukrainian positions between the villages of Ivanivske and Khromove in Donetsk Oblast.

Upon the procedural management of the Donetsk Oblast Prosecutor’s Office, a pre-trial investigation on the fact of violating laws and customs of war combined with premeditated murder (Article 438.2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) was initiated.

In total, 19 criminal proceedings on the fact of murder of 45 Ukrainian prisoners of war are being conducted in Ukraine.

Quote by the Prosecutor General’s Office: “It can be seen in the footage filmed by a drone that the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Russia at first order our defenders to leave the trench. Then, having gathered all the soldiers in one place and stepped back several metres, the Russians fired at them. The Russian soldiers deliberately killed the injured and unarmed Ukrainian soldiers, ignoring the norms of the international humanitarian law.”

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