Ukraine Investigate Beheading of Ukrainian Soldier by Occupiers in Donetsk region

This information was reported by the press service of the Office of the Prosecutor General and Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin.

On June 17, 2024, Ukrainian military personnel received information that representatives of one of the units of the Russian occupation forces in the Volnovakha district of Donetsk region had ordered their subordinates not to take Ukrainian servicemen prisoner and to behead them.

During aerial reconnaissance at one of the combat positions in Donetsk region, Ukrainian soldiers discovered a damaged armored vehicle belonging to the Ukrainian Defense Forces. On it, the severed head of a Ukrainian defender was found.

These actions are a gross violation of the articles of the Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War and the Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions relating to the protection of victims of international armed conflicts, the Office of the Prosecutor General emphasized.

All necessary measures are being taken within the investigation to establish the circumstances of the incident. The involvement of specific Russian servicemen in the commission of this crime is being checked.

“This is horrific barbarism that has no place in the 21st century. It is further evidence that the war crimes committed by the aggressor are not isolated incidents but a planned strategy of the Russian regime. These criminal orders were given at the battalion and company level of the occupying forces. We will not leave these crimes unpunished. I urge the entire civilized world to isolate and punish the terrorist country,” Kostin emphasized.

Photo: Office of the Prosecutor General