Russians behead Ukrainian soldier in Donetsk Oblast

Ukrainian authorities have opened an investigation after Russian soldiers beheaded a serviceman of Ukraine's Armed Forces in Donetsk Oblast.

Source: press service of the Office of the Prosecutor General; Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Andrii Kostin on Twitter (X)

Details: On 17 June 2024, the Ukrainian military received information that soldiers from a Russian unit in the Volnovakha district of Donetsk Oblast had ordered their subordinates not to take Ukrainian soldiers prisoner, but to behead them instead.

While carrying out aerial reconnaissance at a combat position in Donetsk Oblast, Ukrainian forces spotted a damaged armoured vehicle belonging to the Ukrainian defence forces. The severed head of a Ukrainian defender was lying on top of it.

The Prosecutor General’s Office noted that such actions constitute a clear violation of the Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War and the Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions Concerning the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts.

Within the scope of the investigation, all essential steps are being taken to determine the facts of the incident. The role of particular members of the Russian military in the perpetration of this crime is now being investigated.

Quote: "This is horrific barbarism that has no place in the 21st century. This is further confirmation that the aggressor's war crimes are not isolated incidents, but part of the Russian regime's planned policy. These criminal orders were issued by the occupation forces' battalion and company commanders.

We will not let these crimes go unpunished. I urge the entire civilised world to isolate and punish the terrorist country."

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