‘Shoot them on the spot’ — Ukraine’s navy intel data over 150 circumstances of Russia executing POWs

Ukraine's navy intelligence company (HUR) has documented greater than 150 circumstances of Ukrainian troopers being summarily executed after surrendering to Russian forces, the company stated on Might 24.

The company famous that this determine consists of these circumstances recorded by HUR, suggesting the precise complete could also be increased. The assertion got here as Kyiv and Moscow started their largest prisoner alternate of the full-scale battle.

There was a pointy rise in executions of Ukrainian prisoners of battle (POWs) by Russian forces since 2024.

Intelligence officers have cited a number of cases through which Russian troops obtained direct orders to kill prisoners of battle. In line with HUR, these acts aren’t remoted incidents however a part of a deliberate and systematic coverage of the Russian management.

This sample of battle crimes has additionally been confirmed by the U.N. Impartial Worldwide Fee of Inquiry on Ukraine. In a report launched on March 19, the fee discovered a rising variety of circumstances through which Russian forces intentionally killed or maimed Ukrainian troopers who had surrendered or tried to give up.

"A number of (Russian deserters) instructed the fee that they’d obtained orders to not take prisoners however kill them as an alternative," the U.N. report learn. One described a deputy brigade commander saying, "Prisoners aren’t wanted, shoot them on the spot."

In February, the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine raised alarm over a pointy enhance in executions of Ukrainian POWs by Russian forces, documenting 79 POW executions throughout 24 separate incidents since late August 2024, some involving group killings.

The U.N. findings, based mostly on witness testimony and verified media content material, describe Ukrainian POWs, together with unarmed or wounded troopers, being shot on the spot, typically in areas of energetic Russian navy operations. The mission additionally famous public calls by Russian figures and military-linked social media accounts for such killings.

Chaos to coordination: the evolution of POW swaps in the Russia-Ukraine warThe nature, size, and political significance of prisoner exchanges between Ukraine and Russia have evolved significantly over the three and a half years of the full-scale war, accelerating sharply in recent weeks. While ceasefire and peace negotiations have gone through periods of halts and bursts, increasingly institutionalized prisoner exchanges areThe Kyiv IndependentMykolaj Suchy