At least 40 prisoners of war captured by both countries in the Russo-Ukrainian War were summarily executed, a United Nations report has come out.
Matilda Bogner, head of the human rights monitoring team at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), released a report on the 24th (local time) citing interviews with about 400 prisoners of war.
The prisoners cited by the UN in the report were 229 Russian soldiers and 203 Ukrainian soldiers, respectively, freed Ukrainians and Russians held prisoner in Ukraine.
According to the report, 15 Ukrainians and 25 Russians were summarily executed after the war broke out in February last year. 11 of 15 Ukrainian soldiers were found to have been executed by the Wagner Group, a group of Russian civilian mercenaries.
The United Nations said, “Even if prisoners of war escaped execution, they were exposed to violence and torture. In reality, many more prisoners of war may have been executed or exposed to extreme violence.”
“Nearly half of the 229 Russian POWs interviewed were treated in the same way by Ukrainian forces and others,” he said. “203 Ukrainian POWs also experienced similar things.”
In particular, Ukrainian POWs testified that they were provided with just enough food to survive by the Russians. Among them were prisoners who died because the Russians did not provide timely treatment for their wounds.
Bogner, head of the human rights monitoring team, expressed concern about the results of the investigation that came out that day and explained that “Ukrainian prosecutors are investigating some cases in this regard, but no charges have been filed yet.”
The United Nations pointed out that such cases could amount to war crimes, citing the fact that killing and beating prisoners of war are prohibited under international law.
On this day, the United Nations also announced its 35th report on the human rights situation in Ukraine and a report on the overall human rights situation in Ukraine for the six months from August of last year to January 31 last year.
According to reports, more than 8,000 civilians were killed and about 14,000 injured. More than 90% of them were damaged by missiles and mines.
During the same period, 133 victims (85 men, 45 women, 3 girls) were victims of sexual violence, of which 109 cases were committed by the Russian side and the remaining 24 by the Ukrainian side.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.