Ukraine Accuses Russia of Killing and Dismembering a Prisoner of War

The Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner has requested the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations to investigate an image that was widely shared on social media on Saturday. The image, according to him, likely shows a Ukrainian prisoner of war being killed and dismembered by Russian forces. Meanwhile, the Attorney General of Ukraine stated that an immediate investigation into the information circulating on social media regarding the murder and dismemberment of one of the Ukrainian prisoners has begun. Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian human rights inspector, wrote in a Telegram post that 'a photo likely of a Ukrainian prisoner whose head and limbs have been cut off by the Russians has been published on social media.' He added, 'Given these horrific images, I have immediately requested the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations to document another human rights violation by this terrorist country.' Zelensky called the decapitation of a 'Ukrainian soldier' barbaric, stating, 'Russia is worse than ISIS.' Andriy Kostin, the Attorney General, also announced that urgent investigations have begun in this regard. He wrote on Telegram that 'Russia continuously repeats the crimes of the Nazis and ignores all norms of the civilized world.' Russia denies torturing or mistreating prisoners. However, a United Nations commission of inquiry on Ukraine reported in March that it documented credible claims of the execution of at least 32 Ukrainian prisoners of war in 12 separate incidents from December 2023 to February 2024, and independently confirmed the occurrence of three of these executions. This three-member commission stated that it has gathered more evidence that Russia systematically tortured Ukrainian prisoners of war and is also documenting threats of sexual violence and the use of electric shocks to the genitals of prisoners of war. The commission noted that such torture cases are on a scale that could be considered crimes against humanity, describing the occurrence of these cases as 'widespread and systematic.'