Ukraine accuses Russian soldiers of killing prisoners of war
Two unarmed prisoners were allegedly killed on the front near Huliaipole. Kyiv cites intercepted radio traffic. There was no Russian comment.
Symbolic image · Photo: ArmyInform / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (cropped and resized)
The Ukrainian military has accused Russian troops of killing Ukrainian prisoners of war on the front near Huliaipole in the Zaporizhzhia region. Maksym Kravchuk, spokesman for the Southern Group of the armed forces, told Ukrainska Pravda that radio traffic among Russian soldiers had been intercepted in which orders were given to kill wounded Ukrainian soldiers. According to Ukrainian officials' assessment, two unarmed prisoners were likely killed. The incident reportedly occurred a few days before the report was published.
According to Kravchuk, the soldiers likely belong to the 38th Motorized Rifle Brigade; he claimed such orders originate with its commander. The recordings have been handed over to law enforcement, he said. The allegations could not be independently verified, and there was no immediate response from Moscow. Killing prisoners of war is prohibited under the Geneva Conventions and is a war crime.
According to Ukrainian human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets in August, Russian troops have killed at least 345 Ukrainian soldiers who had surrendered since the start of the full-scale invasion. In November 2025, Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office confirmed the shooting of five prisoners of war near the village of Zelenyi Hai.