Executions of Ukrainian POWs by Russians become systemic, indicating policy approved by Russia's top leadership – MFA
The executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russians have become systemic, indicating a policy approved byRussia's top leadership, Spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Heorhiy Tykhy said, calling for full international accountability for all those guilty of these crimes.
"Russian executions of surrendering Ukrainian POWs are more than just barbaric war crimes. They have become systemic, pointing to a policy approvedby Russia's top leadership. In fact, any army would prefer that the adversary surrender in greater numbers. Such executions can only have the exact opposite effect. By acting against even basic military logic, the Russians show that they are a bunch of sadists and degenerates, from top leadership to regular soldiers," Tykhy said on the X social network.
The spokesman said every such case must be investigated and all those responsible brought to justice.
"Each such case must be prosecuted. Each bastard who pulls the trigger must know that justice will be served. We call for full international accountability both for executioners and their patrons up to the Kremlin," Tykhy said.
CNN previously reported that it had obtained intercepted radio communications and drone recordings that appear to show Russian orders to executeUkrainian soldiers who surrendered. In particular, the execution of six Ukrainian soldiers in the eastern Zaporizhia region last November.
A top UN investigator and a Western intelligence official told CNN that the radio transmissions and drone recordings were consistent with other cases in which Russian forces allegedly executed Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered.
Morris Tidball-Binz, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, called such incidents "serious violations" of international law, adding that he believed such behavior could only be authorized by the highest authorities in Russia.
A Western intelligence official who reviewed the audio intercepts found them authentic, credible, and consistent with previously documented brutal executions. He said he was studying similar material from other cases that confirmed Russian command authorization to kill Ukrainian soldiers who had surrendered or were in the process of surrendering.
