Russian servicemen executed five Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) near the settlement of Novodarivka in the Zaporizhzhia region, the Prosecutor General's Office reported on Nov. 24.
According to the report, six Ukrainian soldiers were captured during active hostilities in the area. Russian forces subsequently shot five of them.
Ukrainian law enforcement officials have identified the Russian army unit involved and are investigating the incident as a violation of the laws and customs of war, combined with premeditated murder, under Part 2 of Article 438 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code. A video recording of the shooting has been obtained as evidence.
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It was recently revealed that Russian military personnel executed five captured servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) in the Pokrovsk sector.
Russian forces have escalated the brutal execution of Ukrainian POWs, with 49 criminal cases now under investigation related to the murders of 124 prisoners, Denys Lysenko of Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office reported on Nov. 6.
According to Lysenko, executions have surged to “unprecedented levels” since late 2023, with the Donetsk region seeing the highest number of killings—62 POWs across 17 incidents. Similar atrocities have been recorded in Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv.
On Nov. 11, footage circulated on social media showing Russian soldiers shooting at least two unarmed POWs at close range. Ukrainian journalist Andriy Tsaplienko, who shared the video, said it was filmed in Russia’s Kursk region. Days earlier, another video showed a wounded Ukrainian serviceman captured and then executed by Russian forces after answering their questions.
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In October, drone footage captured the execution of three Ukrainian POWs in the Donetsk village of New York. A captured Russian soldier admitted receiving orders to kill prisoners, stating: “They said on the radio: ‘They took three? Zero them.’” He also revealed that Russian forces execute their soldiers who refuse to fight.
The most shocking incident occurred in the Pokrovsk district of eastern Ukraine, where 16 POWs attempting to surrender were reportedly executed. Video evidence showed Ukrainian soldiers lined up and shot, with any survivors finished off. Ukraine’s Prosecutor General called it the largest documented execution of POWs on the front lines, describing it as part of a deliberate Russian policy of torture and murder.
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