The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has recorded 79 executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russian occupiers in 24 separate incidents since the end of August 2024.
This is reported by the UN press service.
The organization "expressed concern about the sharp increase in reports of executions of Ukrainian soldiers".
The monitoring mission said that many Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered or were captured by the Russians were shot on the spot. Witnesses also reported that the occupiers killed unarmed and wounded fighters.
"These incidents did not occur in a vacuum. Public figures in the Russian Federation have openly called for the inhumane treatment and even execution of captured Ukrainian servicemen," said Head of Mission Danielle Bell.
During 2024, the UN witnessed at least three such calls from Russian officials, and also found a number of posts on social media by military groups affiliated with the Russian Armed Forces calling for or approving executions.
At the same time, the Monitoring Mission documented one execution by Ukrainian military of a wounded Russian soldier in 2024.
Executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war
The Russians have executed at least 177 Ukrainian prisoners of war. Of the 177 confirmed cases, 109 occurred in 2024. This is data as of December 2024.
According to Dmytro Lubinets, his office learns about most cases from videos from Ukrainian special services. At the same time, there are cases when information comes directly from Ukrainian military units. In addition, the Russians publish relevant videos on social networks.
The Ukrainian side informs the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN about cases of execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
Lubinets notes: The ICRC has never publicly or privately accused the Russians of murdering or torturing Ukrainian prisoners of war. But official UN reports for 2024 first revealed data that the Russians were executing Ukrainian defenders.
- At the end of January 2025, Russian soldiers shot six Ukrainian fighters who had been taken prisoner.
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