Author: dmitriy.vasyura@gmail.com

The Russian military summarily executed at least 109 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POW) in 2024, Ukraine’s Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on national television on Dec. 10.

"In 2024 alone, we can confirm that Russian troops shot 109 Ukrainian prisoners of war," Lubinets said. Reports of murders, torture, and ill-treatment of POWs are received regularly by Ukrainian authorities.

The ombudsman added that 177 cases of POW executions were confirmed "during the previous years of the full-scale war."

It is not immediately clear whether he was referring to the overall figure of 177 captives who died in Russian captivity throughout the all-out war, as revealed by Victoria Tsymbaliuk, a representative of the Ukrainian Coordination Center for the Treatment of POWs, in October.

Nevertheless, the number of POWs killed in 2024 alone underscores an increased frequency of summary executions by the Russian military. This trend coincides with an accelerated pace of the Russian advance in Ukraine.

The figures refer only to officially confirmed cases, meaning the overall numbers may be higher.

"There are Russian representatives who are now cynically and publicly showing the whole world that they do not comply with international humanitarian law, the Geneva Conventions, they abduct children, they commit torture against the civilian population of Ukraine, they kill Ukrainian prisoners of war," Lubinets said.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2023 for the forced deportation of Ukrainian children.

The Hague court also issued arrest warrants for ex-Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the General Staff of the Russian army. Shoigu and Gerasimov are charged with "directing attacks at civilian objects," "causing excessive incidental harm to civilians or damage to civilian objects," and the "crime against humanity of inhumane acts."

"Unfortunately, we do not see an effective reaction from the international community. We are very grateful for the deep concern, but as the war in Ukraine, which has been going on for more than 10 years, three years of full-scale war, shows, words do not stop Russia," Lubinets said.

Ombudsman denies Russian claim that Kyiv is delaying prisoner exchanges“Ukraine is not delaying and did not delay the exchanges, but on the contrary, declared its readiness to repatriate seriously injured and seriously ill prisoners by creating a mixed medical commission,” Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said.The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Denisova

Finance Minister Marchenko said that funds and weapons are sufficient to counter the Russian Federation until mid-2025. Ukraine is preparing for possible changes in US support after the presidential election.

Ukraine has enough funds and weapons to fight against Russia for at least the first half of 2025 without the help of the United States under the new administration of Donald Trump, if it stops supporting Ukraine in the confrontation against the Russian Federation. This was stated by Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko in an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Pais, reports UNN.

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Answering the question of what will happen if the United States stops providing assistance to Ukraine under the new administration of Donald Trump, Marchenko said that "Ukraine should have a plan to create the necessary conditions for cooperation with the new administration. Ukraine's natural interest is to create good Trust for cooperation. I believe that this should be a priority strategy for both Ukraine and Europe. We want to build good relations.

He noted that Ukraine should use the time properly and be able to reach an agreement with the new administration.

Marchenko stressed that Ukraine will have enough funds and weapons to resist the Russian Federation until the first half of 2025.

I believe that we have enough funds, enough weapons, rockets and artillery shells to resist at least until the first half of 2025. We will provide sufficient budget allocations for the purchase of ammunition and necessary military equipment in 2025. We are now receiving the necessary weapons from the United States. This means that at least for the first half of the year and beyond, we will be well equipped to withstand this attack. Ukraine should use this time very wisely to conduct the necessary negotiations with our key allies in the United States

Marchenko noted.

recall

US President-elect Donald Trump at a meeting with Ukrainian and French leaders Volodymyr Zelensky and Emmanuel Macron in December reiterated that he wants an immediate cease-fire in Ukraine and negotiations to end the war as soon as possible.

Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.

A Ukrainian missile attack struck a boiler plant in Russia's Rostov Oblast overnight on Dec. 11, damaging critical infrastructure in the city of Taganrog, local Russian officials claim.

Yuri Slyusary, the acting governor of Rostov Oblast, claimed that an overnight Ukrainian missile attack struck an "industrial facility" in Taganrog, damaging the facility as well as 14 cars in the parking lot.

Taganrog Mayor Svetlana Kambulova later reported that heating supply had been disrupted in 27 apartment buildings in the city following an attack on a boiler plant within the city.

Videos posted on social media capture a series of loud explosions in Taganrog around 3:30 a.m. local time.

The Kyiv Independent cannot independently verify any of the Russian claims, and Ukraine's military has not yet commented on the alleged attack.

The full extent of the damage was not immediately clear, although Slyusary claimed that there were no casualties as a result of the alleged attack. No additional details were provided by Russian officials.

The alleged attack on Russian critical infrastructure comes as Russia continues to increase its onslaught of attacks against Ukrainian energy facilities, as it seeks to plunge the country into another harsh winter aimed at testing Ukrainians' resolve.

In the most recent mass aerial attack on the country on Nov. 28, Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said that Russia struck a "massive blow" to the nation's power grid.

Situated on the Russia-Ukraine border, Rostov Oblast has become a regular target of Ukrainian attack since the start of the full-scale invasion.

Russian drone hits IAEA service vehicle near Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plantOn Dec. 10, a Russian drone struck and severely damaged an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) service vehicle on its way to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), President Volodymyr Zelensky reported.The Kyiv IndependentSonya Bandouil

As a result of the Russian strike on Zaporozhye, 6 people were killed and 22 injured, four are still under the rubble. During the day, the invaders launched 268 strikes on 10 settlements of the region.

The Russian army on Tuesday, December 10, struck Zaporozhye. As a result of the attack, 6 people were killed and 22 were injured. Among the injured is a child. A private Polyclinic was destroyed. This is reported by the head of Zaporozhye RMA Ivan Fedorov, writes UNN.

Already 6 dead and 22 wounded – the number of victims as a result of the enemy strike on the Voznesenovsky District of Zaporozhye has increased. At night, rescuers of the State Emergency Service took out two women from under the rubble-they are in the hospital. There are four more people in the ruins of a building disfigured by a Russian rocket."

– notes the chairman of Zaporozhye RMA Ivan Fedorov.

It is also noted that during the day, the invaders inflicted 268 strikes on 10 settlements of the Zaporozhye region.

– 150 UAVs of various modifications attacked Stepnogorsk, Kamenskoye, Gulyai-pole, Shcherbaki, Novoandrievka, Novodanilovka, Malaya Tokmachka, Belogorye and Novodarovka.

– 8 MLRS attacks covered Gulyai-pole, Novoandrievka, Novodanilovka and Malaya Tokmachka.

– 109 attacks were carried out on the territory of Kamenskoye, Gulyai-pole, Shcherbakov, Novoandrievka, Novodanilovka, Malaya Tokmachka, Belogorye and Novodarovka.

33 reports of destruction of residential buildings and infrastructure were received.

In Zaporizhzhia, rescuers pulled two women from the rubble who had called 101Dec 10 2024, 09:40 PM • 13167 views