Russia executes 2 Ukrainian POWs near Pokrovsk, prosecutors say

Russian forces have executed two Ukrainian prisoners of war during an assault near the village of Udachne, 12 kilometers (7 miles) west of Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office reported on May 23.

According to the prosecutors, the incident occurred on May 22 during an attack on Ukrainian positions in one of the most active combat zones of the front line.

Russian troops reportedly took two of four Ukrainian soldiers prisoner during the assault and later shot them dead with automatic weapons in a nearby forest. The fate of the other two soldiers remains unknown.

"The deliberate killing of prisoners of war is a gross violation of the Geneva Conventions and is qualified as a serious international crime," the Prosecutor General's Office said in a statement.

Ukraine's military and law enforcement agencies have launched an investigation to identify those responsible.

The execution of prisoners of war (POWs) follows a documented pattern of war crimes committed by Russian forces. As of mid-December 2024, Ukrainian authorities recorded the execution of 177 Ukrainian soldiers after capture.

Visual evidence and forensic records have backed repeated claims by Kyiv that Moscow systematically violates international humanitarian law by targeting unarmed soldiers and civilians.

The Geneva Conventions classify summary executions of detainees as grave breaches of international humanitarian law.