The Ukrainian Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation into the alleged execution of Russian prisoners by Ukrainian soldiers after Moscow has denounced the fact following the appearance of videos on social networks showing it.
Preliminarily, the Ukrainian Commissioner for Human Rights, Dimitro Lubinets, has pointed out that the Russian soldiers first declared their surrender and then opened fire on the Ukrainian troops, who would have responded to these shots. «Returning fire is not a war crime,» he remarked.
In this line, the Prosecutor’s Office has stated that it will investigate if indeed the Russian soldiers acknowledged their surrender as part of a strategy to attack the Ukrainian side and gain advantage, something that is forbidden by international humanitarian laws.
This alleged execution of at least a dozen Russian soldiers has raised criticism from Moscow, which has quickly come out to demand international organizations to investigate what happened, and has also pointed out that the Russian authorities themselves will study the case in search of those responsible.
In fact, the Russian Justice Ministry warned last week that both the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, and «his henchmen» should be held accountable and answerable in court for this episode of «torture and murder».
