Russian armed forces have executed at least 79 captured Ukrainian soldiers since the end of August, a UN body reports, saying the total represents an "alarming rise." Killing prisoners of war and wounded troops is regarded as a war crime under international humanitarian law. "Many Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered or were in physical custody of the Russian armed forces were shot dead on the spot," the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission mission said Monday in a statement, Reuters reports. "Witness accounts also described the killings of unarmed and injured Ukrainian soldiers."
The mission analyzed video and photographs, published by Ukrainian and Russian sources, that showed executions or dead bodies. It also interviewed witnesses. "Geolocated and chronolocated incidents indicate that the reported executions took place in areas where Russian offensive operations were underway," the statement said. Danielle Bell, head of the UN mission, said Russian public figures have endorsed inhumane treatment and execution of captured Ukrainian troops, per Politico Europe.
The foreign minister of Ukraine said the atrocities call for urgent international action. "Russia's horrific executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war demonstrate that Ukraine confronts true beasts," Andrii Sybiha posted on X. "We need new and effective international legal tools, and concrete steps to hold the perpetrators accountable." (More Russia-Ukraine war stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
