Russian forces reportedly execute yet another Ukrainian POW
Russian troops reportedly shot dead a Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier who had surrendered in the Siversk direction, Ukraine's military and the Prosecutor General's Office reported on Dec. 5.
According to the 10th Mountain Assault Brigade, Russian troops carried out a covert infiltration into the combat formations of Ukraine's Defense Forces near Svyato-Pokrovske village in the Siversk direction.
Later, a video appeared on Russian information channels showing Russian military personnel at one of the Ukrainian positions in the area.
"The footage shows a Ukrainian soldier raising his hands and demonstrating his willingness to surrender, meaning he was no longer participating in hostilities. Despite this, the occupiers continued to keep him at gunpoint and probably opened fire, which could have led to his death," the brigade wrote on Dec. 5.
The Prosecutor General's Office said that the wounded soldier tried to take cover, but the Russian soldier "finished him off with a shot from an assault rifle."
A pre-trial investigation, under the procedural guidance of the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor's Office, has been launched into Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, a war crime that resulted in the death of a person.
Urgent measures are being taken to establish all the circumstances of the crime and identify the Russian soldier, according to the Prosecutor General's Office.
The killing of prisoners of war (POWs) violates the Geneva Conventions and is considered a war crime.
Russian forces regularly execute Ukrainian soldiers as it continues to wage its war. Kyiv is already investigating evidence that Russian forces executed at least 322 Ukrainian POWs, the Prosecutor General's Office reported on Oct. 6.
