Human Rights Watch said Ukrainian soldiers were "gunned down successful acold blood".
Russian forces person allegedly executed astatine slightest 15 Ukrainian soldiers who were attempting to surrender since nan opening of December 2023, according to a caller Human Rights Watch (HRW) report.
The US-based organisation called for nan alleged executions to beryllium investigated arsenic warfare crimes.
“Since Russia’s full-scale penetration of Ukraine, its forces person committed galore heinous warfare crimes,” said Belkis Wille, subordinate situation and conflict head astatine HRW.
“The summary execution - aliases murder- of surrendering and injured Ukrainian soldiers, gunned down successful acold blood, expressly forbidden nether world humanitarian law, is besides included successful that shameful legacy.”
HRW analysed drone footage posted connected societal media connected 2 December, 27 December and 25 February.
In nan videos, Ukrainian soldiers appeared to person surrendered but were changeable by Russian troops. HRW said they could not verify immoderate of nan incidents' locations.
Considering they were nary longer portion of combat, world humanitarian rule says nan men are not targets and truthful cannot beryllium shot.
The Geneva Conventions specifically opportunity that combatants who are retired of combat for reasons specified arsenic surrender, injury, aliases seizure must beryllium treated humanely and are nary longer lawful targets for attack.
On 25 February, nan footage shows astatine slightest 7 Ukrainian soldiers removing their assemblage armour. One of them besides took disconnected his helmet. They each faced down arsenic 5 Russian soldiers aimed their guns astatine them. Six of nan Ukrainian men did not move aft they were shot. One attempted to flight earlier he was changeable dead. This incident took spot successful Ivanivske colony adjacent nan Donetsk region.
HRW was capable to differentiate betwixt Russian and Ukrainian soldiers by identifying nan portion connected their arms: Ukrainian troops deterioration bluish and Russians achromatic aliases red.
The United Nations reported successful March that Ukrainian prisoners of warfare successful Russian captivity knowledgeable torture, including repeated beatings, electrical shocks and mock executions.
Some were moreover subjected to intersexual violence, nan study said.
The UN besides recorded “credible allegations” of Russian troops conducting executions of astatine slightest 32 Ukrainian prisoners of war.
A UN report a twelvemonth earlier of really Russian troops and nan Wagner Group executed 15 Ukrainian prisoners of warfare during nan first twelvemonth of nan full-scale invasion.
The agency of Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’ announced connected 9 April that it was conducting 27 criminal investigations into nan execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied his authorities has committed warfare crimes against Ukrainians.
“While each of these cases is horrifying, possibly what is astir damning is nan grounds indicating successful astatine slightest 1 lawsuit that Russian forces explicitly gave orders to termination soldiers alternatively of letting them surrender, thereby endorsing warfare crimes,” Wille said.
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