Prosecutor General’s Office confirmed the shooting of 16 Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers by occupiers

Russian occupiers shot 16 Ukrainian prisoners of war in the Pokrovsk direction. This was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine.

It was stated that an investigation has been launched in connection with yet another war crime committed by the Russian army.

"Under the procedural control of the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office, a pre-trial investigation has been launched into the fact of violation of the laws and customs of war, combined with premeditated murder (Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine)," the statement says.

The Prosecutor General’s Office reported that information about a war crime committed by the Russian Federation has begun to spread on the Internet. Russian military personnel committed this crime in the area of the villages of Nikolaevka and Sukhoi Yar in the Pokrovsk District.

There is information about a video showing captured Ukrainian servicemen leaving a forest plantation. When they lined up, the occupiers opened aimed fire on them. The wounded, showing signs of life, were finished off point-blank with machine gun fire.

"Such actions are a cynical and gross violation of the Geneva Conventions and are classified as a grave international crime. This is the largest known case of execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war on the front line," the Prosecutor General’s Office emphasized.

Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin stated that the killings and torture of prisoners of war are not accidental, but represent a deliberate policy of the Russian military and political leadership.

It is reported that measures are already being taken to verify the published information. Investigative and search actions have been initiated aimed at establishing all the circumstances of this crime.