UN reports “alarming rise” in executions of Ukrainian POWs

This is reported by the UN press service.

Since late August 2024, the Monitoring Mission has documented 79 executions of Ukrainian POWs in 24 separate incidents.

“Many Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered or were in the 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 report states.

“These incidents did not occur in a vacuum. Public figures in the Russian Federation have explicitly called for inhumane treatment, and even execution, of captured Ukrainian military personnel,” said Danielle Bell, Head of the Mission.

At the same time, the Monitoring Mission reports that it has documented one execution by Ukrainian forces of a wounded Russian soldier in 2024.

• Invading Russian forces have released images showing a Ukrainian soldier with a severed head. His identity has already been confirmed.