UN Report Details Russian Execution of 32 Ukraine POWs

A United Nations report released Tuesday detailed allegations of Russia having executed 32 Ukrainian prisoners of war and using them as human shields to hunt mines, while the POWs who lived to tell about their time detained by Russia allege torture, including rape and castrations.

The findings came in the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) report, writing that the execution videos were posted on social media in the months chronicled from December to February.

"In the reporting period, OHCHR recorded 12 cases of executions of at least 32 captured Ukrainian POWs," the summary read. "OHCHR has verified three of these incidents in which Russian servicemen executed seven Ukrainian servicemen hors de combat.

"In eight of the reported cases, videos published on social media showed what appears to be Russian servicemen killing Ukrainian POWs who had laid down their weapons and using other captured Ukrainian POWs as human shields.

"As of 29 February 2024, OHCHR had obtained corroborating information for one of the videos. In that video, what appears to be a group of armed Russian soldiers stands 15-20 meters behind three Ukrainian servicemen who are kneeling with their hands behind their heads.

"After a few seconds, smoke appears from the Russian soldiers’ weapons and the Ukrainian servicemen fall to the ground. One of the armed soldiers then approaches the bodies and shoots at one of the soldiers lying on the ground."

The details were corroborated by a released Ukrainian POW, as Russia had released 60 POWs this winter, the report continued.

"A recently released Ukrainian POW confirmed to OHCHR that the incident took place near the village of Robotyne, Zaporizhzhia region, in December 2023 and that the servicemen killed were from his unit," it read. "In another case, three male Ukrainian POWs captured by Russian armed forces were executed at the beginning of January 2024 in Zaporizhzhia region.

"According to a witness, two Ukrainian soldiers were executed on the spot after their surrender. The witness also saw Russian servicemen kill a third Ukrainian POW who had been injured by a mine while being forced by the Russian servicemen to conduct demining work.

"In yet another incident, two Ukrainian servicemen were captured on 18 December 2023 near the village of Robotyne in Zaporizhzhia region. They were interrogated overnight in the basement of a building. According to a witness, a Russian serviceman shot one of the Ukrainian POWs in the leg, allegedly for not speaking clearly. Soon after, the same serviceman shot the POW twice in the back, killing him."

Among the surviving Ukraine POWs came reports of torture including rape, attempted rape, and castration in the hands of Russian captors.

"In one case, a Ukrainian POW described being captured by Russian armed forces in November 2023 in Zaporizhzhia region and brought to a shed in a private household, where three Russian servicemen interrogated and tortured him to extract information of a military nature," the report added. "The perpetrators kicked him in the face and torso with such force that his ribs were broken, suffocated him with a plastic bag, and threatened to execute him and to cut off his ear while pressing a knife against it."

The allegations of sexual abuse were made by 39 of the 60 POWs returned from Russia this winter, according to the report.

"Furthermore, 39 of the 60 POWs disclosed that they had been subjected to sexual violence during their internment, including attempted rape, threats of rape, and castration, beatings or the administration of electric shocks to genitals, and repeated forced nudity, including during interrogations and to check for tattoos," the report added. "For example, one POW told OHCHR that a Russian official attempted to rape him with a polyvinyl chloride pipe during an interrogation.

"Another said that Russian officials forced him to undress fully, applied electric shock to his testicles, and threatened to rape him with a police baton and to cut off his testicles."