Russians execute at least 15 Ukrainian soldiers who wanted to surrender - Human Rights Watch

Russian troops executed at least 15 Ukrainian soldiers for trying to surrender. Also, the occupiers could execute six more Ukrainian soldiers from the beginning of December 2023.

This is stated in the report of the human rights organization Human Rights Watch.

Human Rights Watch associate director with the Crisis and Conflict division Belkis Wille said that since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the russian military has committed many horrific war crimes. According to him, the occupiers carried out executions or murders, that is, they shot in cold blood the Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered and the wounded, which is expressly prohibited by international humanitarian law.

"While each of these cases is appalling, perhaps most appalling is the evidence that indicates in at least one instance that russian forces clearly gave orders to kill soldiers rather than allow them to surrender, thereby condoning war crimes," Wille said.

On April 22, Human Rights Watch wrote a letter to the Minister of Defense of the russian federation, Sergei Shoigu, with a request to provide details of the described incidents, as well as any orders to russian troops to kill, rather than capture, Ukrainian soldiers who tried to surrender, but received no response. The report details the patterns and details of russia's war crimes.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on April 7, the Prosecutor General's Office reported that russian occupiers shot three unarmed captured Ukrainian servicemen near Krynky, Kherson Region.

In February, the russian occupiers shot dead six Ukrainian soldiers who could not get out of the Zenit position in Avdiyivka, Donetsk Region.

Also in February, russian occupiers in the Bakhmut district shot dead Ukrainian soldiers who had surrendered as prisoners.