Ukraine's SBU captures Russian soldier suspected of executing 9 Ukrainian POWs in 2024
Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) has captured a Russian soldier who allegedly shot and killed nine Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) in Kursk Oblast in October 2024, President Volodymyr Zelensky reported on Jan. 19.
The announcement comes over a year after Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office opened an investigation into reports that Russian troops shot nine Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered as prisoners in Kursk Oblast on Oct. 10, 2024.
A suspect in the shooting has now been detained, according to Zelensky, who was briefed on the arrest by SBU First Deputy Chief Oleksandr Poklad.
"We will find every Russian murderer," the president said. "Every single one will be held accountable."
The battlefield monitoring group DeepState reported the killing of the Ukrainian soldiers on Oct. 13, 2024, citing sources from Ukraine's First Tank Brigade. The execution occurred in Russia's Kursk Oblast, where Ukrainian forces launched a shock incursion in August 2024.
In the aftermath of the report, Ukraine's Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets submitted information about the execution to the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross, while Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called on the international community to take action.
"Russia's mistreatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war is absolute barbarism, grave violation of international humanitarian law, laws and customs of war," he wrote on X after the shooting.
"Executions are becoming more frequent, 95% of POWs are subjected to torture according to the UN, denied basic needs and access."
Executing POWs is considered a war crime and violation of the Geneva Convention, which prohibits torture, violence, and execution without a fair trial. There have nonetheless been numerous reports of Russian troops summarily executing Ukrainian soldiers after their surrender.
According to evidence compiled by the Ukrainian government, Russian forces have executed over 300 Ukrainian POWs since the start of the full-scale invasion. The Russian military has faced repeated accusations from Ukraine and international organizations of widespread abuse and torture of captives throughout the war.
