The Prosecutorʼs Office opened the case due to the video about the alleged shooting of Russian prisoners by Ukrainian soldiers

Law enforcement officers are checking all participants in the video of the alleged shooting of Russian prisoners of war by soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The video was posted on November 18.

In a comment to "Babel", the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office stated that the Luhansk Regional Prosecutorʼs Office entered information into the Unified Register of Pretrial Investigations "on the fact that servicemen of the Soviet Union committed treason" during their capture. Criminal proceedings have been initiated regarding violations of the laws and customs of war (Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code).

A preliminary analysis of the video indicates that the Russians in the village of Makiivka (Luhansk region) simulated surrender and opened fire on Ukrainian defenders, which is prohibited by international humanitarian law. However, the prosecutorʼs office emphasized that they will give a legal assessment to all participants of the event.

The former Deputy Prosecutor General Gunduz Mamedov explained in a commentary to "Babel" that the wording "treachery" refers to a form of deception in order to inspire the enemyʼs trust in order to achieve military superiority. And this is a war crime according to Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions, article a) of Art. 37, which prohibits the simulation of surrender.

"If there really was an opening of fire on the Ukrainian military by Russian servicemen under the guise of surrender, then the qualification is correct. In any case, it is inappropriate to draw conclusions from fragments of video that are in the public domain. Considering that the proceedings are already open, it is important during the pre-trial investigation to establish all the circumstances of the incident and give a comprehensive legal assessment of the actions of the parties," Mamedov noted.

• On November 13, a video from the village of Makiivka (Luhansk region) appeared on social networks. On it, footage of Russians killed in one of the village yards was taken. It is not known what exactly happened to them, but pro-Russian Telegram channels already began to say that the Ukrainian military allegedly shot the prisoners.
• Subsequently, on November 18, a video appeared directly from the scene of the event. It shows the Russian occupiers leaving the building and lying down, presumably surrendering to the Ukrainians. Then one of them opens fire on the Ukrainian military while leaving the building — and the video cuts off.
• Russian Ombudsman Tetiana Moskalkova and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation said that they have appealed to international organizations with the demand to condemn the "shooting of Russian prisoners", to conduct an investigation and to punish the guilty.
• The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation wrote about the "blood essence of the current Kyiv regime led by Zelensky."