Kyiv: The United Nations stated on Friday that it was "deeply concerned" about reports of both Russian and Ukrainian forces carrying out summary executions of prisoners of war on the battlefield. These accusations follow Kyiv's accusation of Russian forces murdering a captured Ukrainian serviceman who was captured on camera saying, "Glory to Ukraine," just before he was shot and killed.
At a press conference in Kyiv on Friday, Matilda Bogner, the head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, revealed that her organisation had recently documented killings by both sides.
We have documented the Ukrainian armed forces' summary execution of up to 25 Russian POWs and persons hors de combat, and we are gravely concerned about this, said Bogner.
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When captured on the battlefield, this was frequently done right away, she said. We are aware that the Ukrainian authorities are looking into five cases involving 22 victims, but no one has been charged with a crime as of yet," she continued.
Bogner also expressed "deep" concern regarding reports that 15 Ukrainian prisoners were allegedly killed by Russian forces after being captured. 11 of those deaths, according to her, were the result of the Wagner mercenary group, which asserts to be in charge of Russia's assault on Bakhmut, the bloodiest and longest battle of the conflict. Since Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine a year ago, Moscow and Kyiv have accused one another of mistreating prisoners of war.
According to a UN report released on Friday, Ukrainian military personnel allegedly threatened to kill, mock execute, or sexually assault prisoners of war. It stated that some beatings were "pure acts of retaliation." According to the mission, detainees claimed that in some instances, officers beat POWs while yelling, "This is for Bucha," a reference to a town close to Kyiv where Russian forces were alleged to have committed widespread atrocities.
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The report cited a Russian POW as saying, "Before questioning, they showed me an axe handle covered in blood as a warning." The report quotes the detainee as saying, "The questioning lasted for about an hour and they used electricity six times, whenever they thought I was lying."
According to Ukrainian POWs who were interviewed, they experienced sexual assault, deprivation of food and water, and medical neglect that occasionally resulted in death.
The mission claimed that they claimed to have been tortured and mistreated in order to obtain information or as a form of punishment. The treatment of Ukrainian prisoners included beatings with shovels, stabbings, electric shocks, and strangulation. Some of them suffered tooth or finger loss, broken ribs, fingers, or noses, according to the report.
"They broke us rather than just beating us. They employed tasers, batons, fists, and their legs. There were POWs who had broken arms or legs, according to a man who was quoted.
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Dmytro Lubinets, the human rights commissioner for the Ukrainian parliament, claimed that he was unaware of the allegations against Ukrainian troops and that he was "surprised" by them.
On Telegram, he stated that he was interested in "knowing the facts and the incontrovertible arguments on which the conclusions" of the UN report are based.
