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UN expresses concerns to Kiev over murder of Russian POWs

According to Marta Hurtado, the UN mission in Ukraine "will try to gather and analyze more information about the incident"

© Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images

GENEVA, February 10. /TASS/. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) expressed its concerns to the Defense Ministry of Ukraine over the mistreatment of Russian POWs, including murder of captives, OHCHR Spokeswoman Marta Hurtado told TASS Friday.

She noted that the UN human rights monitoring commission in Ukraine "documents and reports violations of international humanitarian law by all sides."

"We have raised concerns about the treatment of prisoners of war, including alleged killings of POWs by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, with Ukraine's Ministry of Defense," Hurtado said.

The spokeswoman underscored that the OHCHR considers the video footage of execution of Russian POWs that has been published online to be authentic.

"We are aware of this video, and we believe that it is authentic," Hurtado said.

"We are also aware of another video that has appeared on social media platforms which includes additional footage of the original incident and also appears to show a Ukrainian soldier confessing the killing and trying to justify it by alleging that the victims refused to surrender or that they were part of the Wagner Group military and security contractors fighting on behalf of the Russian Federation," the spokeswoman continued. "These excuses do not provide justification for the soldier's actions under international humanitarian law."

According to Hurtado, the UN mission in Ukraine "will try to gather and analyze more information about the incident."

On Thursday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the footage of execution of Russian POWs that has been published online, has become yet another proof of Kiev’s war crimes, adding that the responsibility lies with Ukraine’s Western puppeteers.

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