Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner urgently appeals to ICRC and UN over shooting of Ukrainian POWs in Avdiivka

Dmytro Lubinets. Photo: Getty Images

Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights, has appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations to clarify the circumstances of the shooting of Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russian militants at the Zenit position in Avdiivka.

Source: Lubinets on Telegram

Quote: “As the Ombudsman of Ukraine, I urgently sent letters to the ICRC and the UN to document this war crime and clarify all the circumstances. I would like to note that this is not the first time Russia blatantly violated the norms of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions [by] executing prisoners of war.”

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Details: Lubinets noted that the families of the defenders had identified Heorhii Pavlov, Andrii Dubnytskyi, and Ivan Zhytnyk as the deceased. Along with them, Oleksandr Zinchuk and Mykola Savosik were also shot by Russian soldiers. Information about the sixth fighter has not yet been confirmed.

Background:

• On 16 February, Ukraine’s forces moved away from Zenit, a key defensive position in the south of Avdiivka, to save lives and improve the operational situation. 
• On 18 February, relatives of some seriously wounded Ukrainian soldiers who were taken prisoner after Russian forces captured the Zenit position in Avdiivka have recognised their loved ones’ bodies in a video circulating on Russian social media.
• On 19 February, the 110th Separate Mechanised Brigade named after Marko Bezruchko, which had been defending Avdiivka, reported that wounded Ukrainian soldiers who were surrounded in the Zenit defence position were shot by the Russians despite a promise to evacuate them.

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