Rachel Denber, Deputy Director of the Europe and Central Asia Division at Human Rights Watch, says there is no shortage of evidence supporting allegations of Ukrainian prisoners of war being executed by Russian troops. According to her, impunity plays a key part, and the Russian army has some serious questions to answer.
“What instructions do these units have, either formally or informally from their commanders? Are their commanders being quite clear about what the Geneva Conventions say about the treatment of prisoners of war? What are Russian military commanders telling their units about their conduct? What steps is the chain of command taking to investigate these instances? And if higher ups are not investigating, or not taking steps to prevent that conduct, are they aware that they too are criminally liable and can be held accountable?” she asks.
So far, there has been nothing to suggest that Russia is formally investigating claims that its forces have been executing Ukrainian prisoners of war. Even mentioning similar allegations is punishable by lengthy prison sentences in Russia.
According to Vladimir Putin, external, Russian forces have “always” treated Ukrainian prisoners of war “strictly in line with international legal documents and international conventions”.
Ukrainian forces have also been accused of executing Russian prisoners of war, but the number of such claims has been much smaller.
Yuri Belousov says that the Ukrainian prosecution service treats such accusations “very seriously” and is investigating them – but so far no one has been charged.
According to Human Rights Watch, external, since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022 the Russian forces have committed “a litany of violations, including those which should be investigated as war crimes or crimes against humanity”.
The Russian army’s record of abuses is such that some Ukrainian soldiers prefer death to capture.
“He told me: Mum, I’ll never surrender, never. Forgive me, I know you’ll cry, but I don’t want to be tortured,” Ruslan Holubenko’s mother says. Her son is still officially classed as missing in action, and she hopes against hope.
“I’ll do everything that’s possible and impossible to get my child back. I keep looking at this photo. Maybe he is just unconscious? I want to believe, I don’t want to think that he’s gone.”
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