The UN also accuses Russia and Ukraine of executing prisoners of war

MTI-Népsva;

UN; violence; report; prisoners of war; executions; Russian-Ukrainian war;

2023-03-24 22:38:00

The report, released Friday, condemned crimes on both sides, saying the root of the violence was Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

At a press conference in Kyiv on Friday, the UN accused the Ukrainian and Russian armies of arbitrarily executing many prisoners of war and abusing prisoners. Matilda Bogner, head of the UN human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine, called it “deeply troubling” that twenty-five Russian and fifteen Ukrainian prisoners of war were arbitrarily executed outside the fighting.

According to Matilda Bogner, the UN has documented executions of Russians by Ukrainian armed forces, often carried out immediately after they were captured on the battlefield. The UN is aware of five investigations conducted by Kiev involving twenty-two victims, but we have no information that any proceedings have been initiated against the perpetrators of these crimes. The report covered the executions and acts of violence committed on both sides, adding that eleven of the fifteen Ukrainian soldiers executed shortly after their capture by Russian soldiers on the battlefield were mercenaries of Wagner’s Russian private army. At the same time, members of the Ukrainian armed forces exposed Russian soldiers to death threats, mock executions, and sexual assault.

– In some cases, officers beat prisoners of war and told them they would “get it for Bucha,” where Ukrainian civilian victims executed by the Russians were found in mass graves shortly after the war began. A Russian prisoner of war reported that he was shown a bloody ax before his interrogation and claimed that he was tortured with electricity, the report listed, which also listed the atrocities of the Russian army. Ukrainian prisoners of war also reported torture, denial of medical care, drinking water, and food, rape, stabbing, electric shocks, and broken bones.

In coverage of the launch of the report, Sky News highlighted Matilda Bogner’s claim that “the root of the violence against civilians and prisoners of war is Russia’s invasion of Ukraine”.