Ombudsman calls on UN, Red Cross to investigate videos of alleged abuse of Ukrainian prisoners of war

Ukrainian mediator Dmytro Lubinets has called on the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to investigate videos showing beatings, humiliation and threats of Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russian soldiers, apparently in direction of Kharkiv.

Videos posted on social media show actions that violate the Geneva Conventions and should be used as further evidence of Russian violations of international humanitarian law, Lubinets said in his June 2 Telegram message.

The Geneva Conventions require humane treatment of prisoners of war.

“Unfortunately, such treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war is not an exception to the rules, but a common tactic of the occupiers,” Lubinets wrote.

Lubinets has already called on the UN and ICRC to investigate other crimes committed against Ukrainian prisoners of war, including the execution of at least five prisoners of war in Avdiivka in February.

As of March 2024, the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine has collected pre-trial information on more than 128,000 victims of war crimes.