News Feed

"We now know for sure that the great fire of the Marywilska shopping centre in Warsaw was caused by arson ordered by the Russian special services," Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on X. "Some of the perpetrators have already been detained, all the others are identified and searched for."

This week, the world watched in anticipation for Russia’s Victory Day parade after President Volodymyr Zelensky commented that he could not guarantee the safety of those attending. Meanwhile, the European Union moves one step forward to banning Russian gas from the European continent. It is also revealed this week that U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has fallen out of step with the White House.

Show More
News Feed

4 Ukrainian POWs killed by Russian forces near Selydove, Prosecutor General's Office reports

2 min read
4 Ukrainian POWs killed by Russian forces near Selydove, Prosecutor General's Office reports
A destroyed vehicle in Tsukuryne near the town of Selydove, Ukraine on August 28, 2024 (Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Russian soldiers killed four captured Ukrainian servicemen near the town of Selydove in Donetsk Oblast, the Prosecutor General's Office reported on Oct. 24.

In a post on Telegram, it said the four members of Ukraine's National Guard were fighting near the town when they were taken prisoner during a Russian attack on Oct. 6.

Russian soldiers filmed their interrogations, but when the positions were recaptured by Ukrainian forces on Oct. 7, their bodies were discovered.

The Prosecutor General's Office has opened a pre-trial investigation into the incident.

There have been multiple reports of the executions of Ukrainian POWs by Russian soldiers during the full-scale invasion, but they have increased dramatically over the last year.

Videos and photos have documented potential war crimes, including drone footage showing the shooting of the POWs as they surrendered to Russian troops.

Other videos and photos point to torture and violent death in Russian captivity.

As of Oct. 18, Russian forces have executed at least 102 Ukrainian prisoners of war since 2022, the Prosecutor General's Office said.

Andrii Kostin, the former Prosecutor General, said that the executions of Ukrainian POWs were not isolated incidents, but a purposeful policy" of Russia, citing the audio recordings obtained by Kyiv.Selydove, a town located 18 kilometers (11 miles) south of Pokrovsk, has become a focal point of Russia's offensive in recent weeks.

Finishing off the defenseless: How the Russians execute Ukrainian soldiers
Warning: This article contains graphic photos and descriptions of graphic scenes. A decomposed human hand with the remains of flesh, bleak and brown save for one splash of color — two thin blue-yellow rubber bracelets. The colors of the Ukrainian national flag. The hand was from a body of the hund…
Avatar
Kateryna Denisova

News Editor

Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.

Read more