Ukrainian forces captured two North Korean soldiers as prisoners of war (POWs) in Russia's Kursk Oblast on Jan. 9. The Kyiv Independent's Anna Belokur breaks down everything we learned from the POWs' interrogation video released by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
"Ukraine is ready to hand over his people to Kim Jong Un if he can organize their exchange for our soldiers who are held captive in Russia. For those North Korean soldiers who do not want to return, there may be some other ways."
Key developments on Jan. 12: * 'Irrefutable evidence of North Korea's involvement' — Ukraine says it captured 2 North Korean POWs in Kursk Oblast * Ukrainian drone hits large oil refinery in Russia’s Tatarstan, head of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation confirms * Russia launches double airstrike on nursing home in Kursk
Russian troops have allegedly killed three Ukrainian prisoners of war in Donetsk Oblast's Volnovakha District, Ukraine’s ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets wrote on his Telegram channel on Jan. 6.
Key developments on Jan. 1: * Russian drone attack kills 2, injures 6, damages central bank building in Kyiv * Russia has lost over 38,000 troops in Kursk Oblast, Syrskyi says * Ukraine has brought back 1,358 people from Russian captivity in 2024 * Zelensky says Trump 'willing, capable of achieving peace
Key developments on Dec. 30: * Ukraine brings back 189 people from Russian captivity in prisoner swap * Biden announces $2.5 billion security assistance package for Ukraine * Russian military suffers 427,000 casualties in 2024, Syrskyi claims * Russia launched over 1,300 drone strikes, 250 missiles at Kyiv in 2024 Ukraine
The Ukrainian Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War (POWs) called it one of the largest prisoner exchanges since the start of the full-scale war in 2022.
Ukraine's Air Force on Dec. 29 denied claims spread by Russian media about a Ukrainian pilot surrendering to Russian forces in Kursk Oblast.
As of late 2024, 60,000 individuals in Ukraine are considered missing under special circumstances, Ukrinform reported on Dec. 26, citing Dmytro Bohatyuk, head of the Interior Ministry’s Department for Missing Persons.
Warning: This article contains descriptions of graphic scenes. For a moment, Oksana Latanska could not believe her eyes when she looked down at a cold, little body, gray from dust and ashes. It hardly resembled the little boy that she knew so well and whom she saw almost every weekend
“It was at the start of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ military operation in Kursk Oblast. I believe the Kursk operation provided strong arguments in favor of Ukraine,” Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said.
The court convicted the soldiers on terrorism charges, accusing them of "opening fire to kill both Russian servicemen and civilians." Russia often uses trumped-up charges to jail captured Ukrainian soldiers, activists, journalists, and regular civilians for lengthy terms.
The Hungarian side "did not discuss anything" with Ukraine and "did not warn about its contacts with Moscow," said Dmytro Lytvyn, the presidential communications adviser, referring to Viktor Orban’s recent phone call with Vladimir Putin.
Key developments on Dec. 11: * Russia continues to suffer record losses in December, Zelensky says * Ukraine has arms to resist at least until mid-2025 if US cuts aid, finance minister says * Russian proxies sentence 9 Azovstal defenders to 24 years, life in prison * Russia may launch new Oreshnik missile against
"In 2024 alone, we can confirm that Russian troops shot 109 Ukrainian prisoners of war," Lubinets said. Reports of murders, torture, and ill-treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war are received regularly by Ukrainian authorities.
"Ukraine is not delaying and did not delay the exchanges, but on the contrary, declared its readiness to repatriate seriously injured and seriously ill prisoners by creating a mixed medical commission," Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said.
Four unarmed Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) were apparently shot and killed by Russian forces in Donetsk Oblast earlier this November, adding to the five previously reported executions of Ukrainian soldiers, the Prosecutor General's Office said on Nov. 28.
Key developments on Nov. 26: * Russia launches record 188 drones against Ukraine overnight, Air Force says * Russian Defense Ministry admits that Ukraine hit airbase in Kursk Oblast with ATACMS * Russia's advance in Ukraine fastest since early 2022, analysts claim * Russian soldiers suspected of executing 5 Ukrainian POWs near Pokrovsk * UK
Russian forces apparently shot five unarmed Ukrainian prisoners of war (POW) in Donetsk Oblast earlier this November, the Prosecutor General's Office said on Nov. 26, launching a war crime investigation.
Ukraine’s Third Assault Brigade said it had cleared out the Kopanky village in Kharkiv Oblast, taking seven prisoners of war from Russia’s First Tank Army, its Telegram channel reported on Nov. 25.
The Security Service of Ukraine has launched an investigation into the killing of Ukrainian soldiers near Vuhledar, from which Ukrainian forces withdrew on Oct. 2.
Key developments on Nov. 21: * Russia used new 'Oreshnik' intermediate-range ballistic missile against Ukraine, Putin says * Ukrainian UAVs reportedly strike Russian border regions, industrial facility hit * Hungary deploys air defenses near Ukraine, cites war escalation after US allows strikes in Russia * Russian troops suspected of executing Ukrainian POWs in Kursk
Russian forces are suspected of summarily executing Ukrainian prisoners of war (POW) in Russia's Kursk Oblast, Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets reported on Nov. 20.
They were stripped naked and shot dead, according to the prosecutors. In a picture published by the prosecutors, two blurred naked bodies are seen lying on the ground.
Reports of murders, torture, and ill-treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war are received regularly by Ukrainian authorities and have spiked in recent months. Most cases were recorded in embattled Donetsk Oblast.
Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets met with his Russian counterpart, Tatyana Moskalkova, in Belarus on Nov. 8 to discuss humanitarian issues related to Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine.
As the world waited with bated breath for the result of the U.S. elections, Russia's war against Ukraine did not relent. Donald Trump's sweeping victory no doubt spells an uncertain future for the besieged country. But Russia's grinding advances in Donbas, drone attacks, and yet more allegations of war
Key developments on Nov. 6: * Ukraine hits Russian naval base in Dagestan for first time, source says * 'I’m going to stop the wars' — Trump says, as he claims victory * Kursk incursion thwarted Russia's plans for 'buffer zone' in Sumy Oblast, Syrskyi says * Russia has executed at least 124 Ukrainian
Denys Lysenko, head of the department focused on war-related crimes, said that 49 criminal investigations were underway regarding the execution of Ukrainian POWs.
After the first drone strike against Russia's North Caucasus republic that targeted the Russian Special Forces University of Vladimir Putin in the Chechen city of Gudermes on Oct. 29, Kadyrov said he ordered all of his commanders fighting against Ukraine "not to take prisoners and destroy" Ukrainian soldiers as retribution.
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.
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 hundreds
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