Russian troops executed five unarmed Ukrainian servicemen in two separate incidents this month. One case occurred during a Russian assault in Donetsk Oblast on 27 December, Ukraine's Prosecutor General’s Office reported, the other on 20 December near Huliaipole in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Deep State says.
Russian forces executed two captured soldiers in Donetsk Oblast
The Prosecutor General’s Office reported on 29 December that two Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen were executed by Russian troops during fighting in the village of Shakhove, Pokrovsk district. According to the statement, the two soldiers were performing a combat task on one of the positions when Russian troops captured them during an assault.
The office said that Russian forces, while threatening with firearms, forced one of the prisoners to partially undress before executing both unarmed servicemen. After confirming that both captives were dead, the Russian troops removed clothing from the second soldier’s body as well.
"The deliberate killing of prisoners of war is a gross violation of the Geneva Conventions and qualifies as a serious international crime," the statement emphasizes.
The Donetsk Oblast Prosecutor’s Office has launched a pre-trial investigation into the war crime under Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (violations of the laws and customs of war, combined with intentional murder).
Urgent investigative actions are ongoing to establish all the circumstances and to identify the specific individuals responsible.
Deep State reports execution of three more servicemen in Zaporizhzhia Oblast
On 28 December, Ukrainian OSINT group Deep State reported another case of execution of three captured Ukrainian soldiers. According to their post on Telegram, the incident occurred on 20 December south of Huliaipole.
DeepState stated that soldiers from one of the mechanized brigades were assigned to reoccupy positions that had been previously abandoned without authorization by another unit. However, Russian troops were already waiting at the location and shot the soldiers.
The group published a photo of the bodies and a map showing the exact location of the incident.
