The Russians shot two Ukrainian prisoners of war — the prosecutorʼs office is investigating another war crime

The Prosecutor Generalʼs Office has started an investigation into another shooting of Ukrainian prisoners of war. The corresponding video appeared on the Internet on July 10.

The prosecutorʼs press service writes about it.

The video shows how the military forces of the Russian Federation shot two captured Ukrainian soldiers. This moment was caught on a drone camera. Two Russians force the undressed and unarmed prisoners to sit in the trench with their backs to them, and then shoot them.

The investigation established that this happened in June 2024 near Robotyny in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Some analysts in the X social network suggest that the fighters of the 70th motorized rifle regiment (military unit 71718), who were involved in the assaults on Ukrainian positions in Robotyn, may be responsible for this crime.

"The recording clearly shows that the defenders of Ukraine laid down their weapons and did not offer any resistance. The occupiers cynically shoot unarmed people," said Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin.

Criminal proceedings were initiated for violation of the laws and customs of war, combined with intentional murder. The killing of prisoners of war is a gross violation of the Geneva Conventions, which is classified as a grave international crime.

Executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war

The number of confirmed murders of Ukrainian prisoners of war by the Russian occupiers has increased since November 2023.

In the winter of 2024, cases of shooting prisoners of war began to be made public. The first known case occurred near the village of Vesely (Bakhmut district) — two soldiers were killed there, the second — at the "Zenith" position in Avdiivka, where six soldiers of the 110th brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were probably shot. The third was near Robotyny (three Ukrainian defenders were killed). And on February 25, it became clear that the Russian military had once again shot Ukrainian prisoners of war "on camera." The moment of execution was filmed by a copter.

In June, the GUR identified the Russians who shot four Ukrainian prisoners of war near Robotyny in the second half of May 2024.

Since the beginning of the full-scale war, law enforcement officers have documented more than 45 cases of murder of prisoners of war. These cases are investigated within 19 criminal proceedings. The number of shootings that could not be documented may be higher.