UN: Both sides involved
Ukraine outraged by allegations of arbitrary executions
03/25/2023, 06:35 am
According to the UN, in the Ukraine war there are arbitrary executions – not only Russia, but also Ukraine would execute prisoners of war. Kiev is now sharply criticizing the allegations – the “victim of the aggression” should not be held responsible.
Ukraine has denied UN allegations that, like Russia, it arbitrarily executed prisoners of war without trial. The Foreign Ministry in Kiev thanked the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine for its investigations, but warned against any attempt “that could be interpreted as equating the victim with the aggressor.” It is “unacceptable” to blame the “victim of aggression”.
Ukrainian human rights envoy Dmitro Lubinets told Telegram that he was “surprised” by the UN’s allegations against his country. He was not informed in advance about the findings. Lubinez did not directly reject the allegations. However, he emphasized that he now wanted “to know the facts and the indisputable arguments” on which the conclusions of the UN mission were based.
The UN has accused both Russia and Ukraine of arbitrary executions of prisoners of war without trial. The United Nations is “deeply concerned” about these executions, Matilda Bogner, head of the UN human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine, said at a press conference in Kiev on Friday.
Reports of mock executions
“We are deeply concerned about the executions by Ukrainian forces of up to 25 Russian prisoners of war and incapacitated persons that we have documented,” the UN official said. The people were executed “immediately after their arrest on the battlefield”.
The UN is also “deeply concerned” by “the summary execution of 15 Ukrainian prisoners of war shortly after their capture by Russian forces,” Bogner continued. Eleven of these people were killed by the Russian mercenary group Wagner. In a UN report published on Friday, former Russian and Ukrainian prisoners of war also describe severe torture and abuse by the other warring party.
Ukrainian prisoners of war report, among other things, about beatings with shovels, electric shocks, mock executions, sexual violence, the refusal of food and drinking water as well as urgently needed medical help in Russian detention. “They not only beat us, they broke us,” it says in these descriptions.
According to the UN report, Russian prisoners of war, for their part, report being beaten in “pure retaliation” for alleged Russian war crimes in Bucha, electric shocks and threats of killing or sexual violence by the Ukrainian forces. “Before the interrogation, you showed me a bloody ax as a warning,” a Russian prisoner of war was quoted as saying.