Camilla Jessen
Ukraine reports capture of Russian soldier over war crime claims.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on January 19 that Ukrainian forces had captured a Russian serviceman accused of executing Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russia’s Kursk region last October.
Zelenskyy said he received the information from Oleksandr Poklad, the first deputy head of the Security Service of Ukraine. He described the arrest as the detention of “the Russian serviceman responsible for the execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war.”
“Every Russian murderer must be held accountable for their actions. And so it will be,” Zelenskyy said in his statement.
Security operations
The president also said Ukrainian authorities were countering what he described as Russian sabotage efforts behind the front lines. He thanked the Security Service of Ukraine for what he called its role in protecting civilians.
Zelenskyy’s remarks came as Kyiv continues to publicize investigations into alleged violations of the laws of war, particularly involving the treatment of captured Ukrainian troops.
Ukrainian officials have repeatedly accused Russian forces of executing prisoners rather than detaining them.
Recent investigations
Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office said on December 29 that Russian troops shot dead two Ukrainian servicemen after capturing them during an assault in the village of Shakhove, in the Pokrovsk district of the Donetsk region, on December 27.
Investigators said a war-crimes case had been opened into the incident.
In a separate statement on November 22, the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office said it had launched a criminal investigation into the alleged execution of five unarmed Ukrainian prisoners of war near the settlement of Kotlyne, also in the Pokrovsk district.
Kursk allegations
Earlier, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office reported that it had opened a criminal investigation into the execution of nine Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russian forces in the Kursk region.
The killings were described as a serious violation of the laws and customs of war.
Ukrainian authorities say such cases form part of a growing body of evidence they are compiling for future prosecutions.
Sources: Office of the President of Ukraine, Security Service of Ukraine, Ukraine Prosecutor General’s Office, United24 Media
