Lubinets: Russia encourages execution of Ukrainian POWs at highest level

According to Ukrinform, he said this in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

“The actions of the Russian military, which shoot unarmed Ukrainian soldiers, are a gross violation of the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War and the TIR regulations,” Lubinets said.

He said that representatives of Ukraine report such facts of war crimes to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the United Nations (UN), which are supposed to record these crimes.

At the same time, he emphasized that such executions are not isolated cases, but a systemic policy of the Russian Federation, which is encouraged at the highest level. “It is necessary not just to document such cases, but to investigate them thoroughly and bring the perpetrators to justice,” the Ombudsman said.

He also noted that the effectiveness of documenting Russian war crimes and the possibility of bringing perpetrators to justice depends on the level of support from international partners.

“The effectiveness of documenting Russian war crimes and especially the prospect of implementing accountability mechanisms (ICC, Special Tribunal) directly depends on the level and nature of international legal support from Western partners,” Lubinets said.

Earlier it was reported that the special forces of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine recorded more than 150 cases of executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war by the Russian occupiers. In many cases, direct orders to kill prisoners were recorded.