Human rights experts: Russian army shot at least 15 Ukrainian soldiers who had surrendered in cold blood

The report of Human Rights Watch (HRW) states that since December, the Russian army has shot at least 15 Ukrainian soldiers who had surrendered as prisoners, the foreign media “Euronews” reported.

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Analyzing the materials of five incidents since December 2023, HRW stated that Ukrainian soldiers “were shot in cold blood”, thus clearly violating the Geneva Conventions.

According to a recently published HRW report, since the beginning of December 2023, Russian forces have shot at least 15 Ukrainian soldiers who tried to surrender. The US-based organization called for the five analyzed cases of alleged executions to be investigated as war crimes.

“Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, its forces have committed many heinous war crimes,” said Belkis Wille, HRW’s associate crisis and conflict director. “This shameful legacy also includes the immediate killing, or murder, of Ukrainian soldiers shot in cold blood, clearly prohibited by international humanitarian law,” she explained.

HRW analyzed drone footage published on social media on December 2, 27 and February 25. The videos showed Ukrainian soldiers surrendering, only to be shot dead by Russian troops. HRW said they were unable to verify the locations of some of the incidents, Euronews reported.

Considering that they – Ukrainian soldiers – no longer participated in the battles, international humanitarian law states that these men are not targets, therefore they cannot be shot at. The Geneva Conventions specifically state that combatants who are out of combat and, for example, surrender due to injury or capture, must be treated humanely and are no longer legitimate targets of attack.

The footage taken on February 25 shows at least seven Ukrainian soldiers taking off their body armor. One of them also removed his helmet. They all looked down as five Russian soldiers pointed their weapons at them. Six of the Ukrainian men did not move after the shot. One tried to run away before being shot. This incident took place in the village of Ivanivske near Donetsk region.

The human rights watchdog was able to tell the difference between Russian and Ukrainian soldiers by identifying the ribbons on their arms: Ukrainian soldiers wear blue ribbons, while Russians wear white or red ones.

On the other hand, in March, the United Nations (UN) reported that Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russian captivity were tortured, repeatedly beaten, and electrocuted. They were also given death sentences. Some were even sexually assaulted, the report said. The UN also registered “credible allegations” that Russian troops have executed at least 32 Ukrainian prisoners of war.

A year earlier, a UN report reported how Russian troops and the Wagner mercenary group executed 15 Ukrainian prisoners of war in the first year of the full-scale invasion.

The General Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine announced on April 9 that it is conducting 27 criminal investigations related to the execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war. Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied that his government committed war crimes against Ukrainians, Euronews reported.

“While each of these cases is appalling, perhaps most damning is the evidence that, in at least one case, Russian forces clearly gave the order to kill soldiers rather than allow them to surrender, thereby abetting war crimes,” said HRW’s Associate Crisis and Conflict Director Ville.

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