Russian forces torture, kill Ukrainian POWs captured in Mariupol – Denisova 

Ombudsman Lyudmila Denisova shared the details on her Telegram channel.

"Russia doesn’t abide by the agreements and conditions for treatment of prisoners of war, instead it kills them brutally," she said.

Ukrainian servicepeople captured by Russian forces in Mariupol on or around April 19-20 suffered torture and ill-treatment. One Azov Battalion fighter was killed by Russian forces after brutal torture, and on the morning of April 30, his mother received a photo of his body. She said her son was surrounded by Russian occupation forces, in a Russian propaganda video.

Lyudmila Denisova stated that the torture and killing of prisoners of war are a gross violation of the Geneva Convention. Article 3 prohibits violence against life and person, including all forms of murder, mutilation, ill-treatment and torture.

"I emphasize that agreements with Russia are not worth the paper they are signed on. These occupiers resort to insidious provocations, they hide behind civilians and use people as human shields. They force people to surrender and then kill them," ombudsman said.

She appealed to the UN Commission of Inquiry into Human Rights Violations during Russia's military invasion of Ukraine to take these Russian war crimes into account.