Prosecutors open investigation into alleged killing of 9 POWs by Russians in Kursk Oblast

Ukraine's Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin announced on Oct. 13 that his office had opened an investigation after Russian troops reportedly shot nine Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered as prisoners in Kursk Oblast.

"The killing of prisoners of war is a gross violation of the Geneva Conventions and an international crime. A criminal case has been opened over the violation of the laws and customs of war combined with premeditated murder," Kostin posted on X.

"We are doing our utmost to identify and prosecute all those responsible for the aggressor's crimes committed against Ukraine and Ukrainians."

The shootings are said to have occurred on Oct. 10, the crowd-sourced monitoring group Deepstate reported on Oct. 13, citing sources in Ukraine's First Tank Brigade.

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiga posted on X on Oct 13, calling for the international community to take immediate action by issuing warrants for Russian executioners, increasing sanctions, and demanding access to detention sites.

"Russia's mistreatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war is absolute barbarism, grave violation of international humanitarian law, laws and customs of war. Executions are becoming more frequent, 95% of POWs are subjected to torture according to the UN, denied basic needs and access," he wrote.

Ukraine's Obudsman Dmytro Lubinets said that he had submitted information about the execution cases in Kursk to the U.N. and the International Committee of the Red Cross.  

Summary executions by Russians of Ukrainian prisoners of war have sharply risen in the past year.

Kyiv knows of 93 Ukrainian POWs who were summarily executed by Russian soldiers on the battlefield throughout the full-scale war, a senior representative of the Prosecutor General's Office said on national television on Oct. 4.

Russia has summarily executed at least 93 Ukrainian POWs on battlefield, top prosecutor says

Yurii Belousov, the head of the department focused on war-related crimes, explained that 80% of these cases were recorded in 2024, but the trend appeared already late last year.

The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek