Ukraine's Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets announced on Aug. 3 that he had appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the United Nations in response to a photo that allegedly shows the body of a Ukrainian prisoner of war executed by Russia.
The photo, which is circulating on social media, shows the body of a person with his head and limbs cut off. It is unknown when the photo was taken. The Kyiv Independent was unable to verify it.
Reports of Ukrainian POWs being tortured or killed while in Russian captivity have been surfacing since the start of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine. As of June, the Prosecutor General's Office said 28 criminal investigations were underway regarding the execution of 62 Ukrainian POWs.
"This is not just a violation of the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, this is the behavior of monsters," Lubinets said.
The ombudsman asked international organizations to record another human rights violation by Russia and called on Ukraine's law enforcement to verify the identity of the killed person and the fact of the crime.
"POWs are in the hands of a hostile state, and the latter that is responsible for their treatment. Therefore, the responsibility for killing and mutilation lies not only with Russian soldiers, but with the Russian Federation," Lubinets added.
As of March 2024, Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office collected pretrial information on over 128,000 victims of war crimes. The prosecutors said they are investigating cases of at least 54 Ukrainian POWs being executed by Russia.
Prosecutor General Andrii Kostin said on June 18 that Russian commanders had given orders "not to capture Ukrainian servicemen, but instead to kill them with inhuman cruelty." He made the statement after revealing footage of a Ukrainian soldier beheaded by Russian troops.
Natalia Yermak
(Updated: )
