[Korrespondent] During the assault, the occupiers surrounded the Ukrainian defenders, forced them to lay down their arms and surrender.
Russian soldiers shot three Ukrainian soldiers who were captured near the village of Novopol in Donetsk region. A pre-trial investigation has been launched into the deliberate murder of the prisoners. This was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General on Tuesday, May 6.
"According to the procedural guidance of the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor's Office, a pre-trial investigation has been initiated in criminal proceedings regarding the commission of a war crime that resulted in the death of people (Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine)," the statement noted.
On May 3, three servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were performing combat missions at a position near the village of Novopol, Velikonovoselkovskaya TG, Volnovakha district. During the assault, the occupiers surrounded the Ukrainian defenders, forced them to lay down their arms and surrender. Realizing that the servicemen of the Defense Forces could not resist, the representatives of the Russian army shot them with automatic weapons.
The Office of the Prosecutor General recalled that the deliberate killing of prisoners of war is a gross violation of the Geneva Conventions and is classified as a grave international crime.
Urgent investigative actions are currently being carried out to establish all the circumstances of the event and the persons involved in the crime.
It was previously reported that law enforcement officers were investigating 49 criminal cases involving the murder of 124 prisoners of war on the battlefield. But after that, new cases of shooting Ukrainian soldiers were revealed.
In 2024, the Russians executed at least 109 Ukrainian prisoners of war. And in the previous years of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, another 177.