The UN on Friday accused Ukrainian and Russian forces of carrying out dozens of “summary executions” of prisoners of war during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“We are deeply concerned about the summary execution of 25 Russian prisoners of war and persons hors de combat” as well as that of “15 Ukrainian prisoners of war”, said Matilda Bogner, head of the human rights monitoring mission. United Nations man in Ukraine.
According to Mme Bogner, the UN has documented these executions of Russians by the Ukrainian armed forces, “often” carried out “immediately after capture on the battlefield”.
The UN is aware of five investigations carried out by kyiv which implicate 22 victims, but “we are not aware of any prosecution of the perpetrators” of these crimes, she added.
Regarding the executions of 15 Ukrainian prisoners of war “shortly after their capture” by the Russian armed forces “, 11 of them were perpetrated by the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, the official further indicated. »
Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of mistreating prisoners amounting to war crimes, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.
The Wagner group is on the front line of fighting for the city of Bakhmout, the epicenter of hostilities in eastern Ukraine.
At the beginning of March, a video showing the alleged execution of a Ukrainian prisoner of war by Russian soldiers caused shock in Ukraine.
In November, the Kremlin was indignant at two videos showing the alleged execution of a dozen Russian soldiers who had just surrendered to Ukrainian forces.
To see in video