UN Reports Surge in Ukrainian POW Executions by Russian Forces

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 UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission has recorded an "alarming rise" in reported executions of Ukrainian soldiers captured by the Russian armed forces during the war in recent months, it said on Monday. The mission in Ukraine said it had received reports of 79 executions in 24 separate incidents since the end of August last year. International humanitarian law prohibits the execution of prisoners of war and the wounded, and regards it as a war crime. "Many Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered or were in physical custody of the Russian armed forces were shot dead on the spot. Witness accounts also described the killings of unarmed and injured Ukrainian soldiers," the mission said in a statement. Commenting on the report, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the Russian atrocities demanded urgent international action.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Monday that an increase in number of Ukrainian prisoners of war executed by Russian forces requires an urgent international response. A UN body reported on Monday that it had recorded an "alarming rise" in reported executions in recent months. "The world must not only condemn, but also take urgent action. We need new and effective international legal tools, and concrete steps to hold the perpetrators accountable," Sybiha said on X.