Russians execute two Ukrainian POWs near Selydove, Donetsk Oblast

Russian forces executed two captured Ukrainian soldiers near the town of Selydove in Donetsk Oblast. Law enforcement authorities have launched an investigation. Source: Donetsk Oblast Prosecutor's Office; Prosecutor General's Office 

Quote: "A pre-trial investigation has been launched in criminal proceedings for violating the laws and customs of war, combined with premeditated murder," the Prosecutor's Office reported.

Details: According to operational data, at 14:38 on 18 October, Russian Armed Forces personnel captured two Ukrainian servicemen during an assault on Ukrainian positions in the Pokrovsk district of Donetsk Oblast. Russian troops, who were storming a forest belt near the town of Selydove, forced the unarmed POWs to lie face down. They held them in this position by pressing them to the ground with their feet, then executed them at point-blank range using automatic firearms.

Prosecutors stress that the killing of POWs is a flagrant violation of the Geneva Conventions and is classified as a grave international crime.

Background:

• The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine has said that the number of executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war by the Russians has increased over the past year.

  Prosecutor General Andrii Kostin emphasised that these crimes are not isolated incidents, but a deliberate policy on Russia's part.

• Russian forces are trying to combine assault operations towards the outskirts of Selydove, Donetsk Oblast, with flanking the city.
• The Russians are using large numbers of infantry.

  On 20 October alone, the National Guard repelled 17 Russian assault operations on the Pokrovsk front.

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