UN rights commissioner urges Russia to halt alleged summary executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war

The UN deputy high commissioner for human rights on Wednesday called on Russia to halt the summary executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war, saying such executions "constitute a war crime."


"I am deeply concerned by a significant increase in credible allegations of executions of Ukrainian military personnel captured by Russian armed forces. Summary executions constitute a war crime," Nada Al-Nashif said in her speech on the findings of the human rights office's periodic report on the situation of human rights in Ukraine.

According to Al-Nashif, the office recorded 62 such executions in 19 separate incidents between September and November and it has verified five of these incidents.

"I call on the Russian authorities to halt the summary executions of Ukrainian Prisoners of War, to condemn such acts, and to prosecute those responsible," she said. "I urge those in authority on both sides (Russia and Ukraine) to take immediate steps to end the use of torture against prisoners of war and to prosecute those responsible."

She also urged Moscow to meet its obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law in the territory of Ukraine it occupies.

Regarding the progress toward a peaceful resolution, the commissioner said that the process remains "elusive" as the third year of the war approaches and a "dangerous escalation of hostilities" remains in sight.

"September in fact, marked the highest number of civilian casualties since July 2022," she said. "This is confirmed in the latest report by the Office that we issued for the period of 1 September to 30 November last year, which documents continued and increasing gross violations of international human rights law and serious violations of humanitarian law, including possible war crimes."