The European Union’s top diplomat said Russia’s treatment of prisoners of war was inhumane, citing the shelling in Yelenovka and the video of the torture of a captured Ukrainian as an example.
The European Union condemns in the strongest possible terms “the atrocities committed by the Russian armed forces and their proxies,” EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said in a message posted on the website of the European External Action Service.
“These inhumane, barbaric acts are serious violations of the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols and war crimes,” the statement said.
The head of European diplomacy cited as an example the shelling of a building with Ukrainian prisoners of war in Yelenovka on July 29, as well as a video distributed by pro-Kremlin media in which “Russian soldiers did of heinous cruelty against a Ukrainian prisoner of war. .”
Borrell said that “Russia’s illegal and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine and its people leads every day to new terrible atrocities.”
Terrorist attack in Yelenovka: ISW rejected the version of the Russian Federation
The diplomat recalled Russia’s obligation to ensure the protection of prisoners of war within the framework of international humanitarian law, and this also applies to the servicemen killed in Yelenovka, who were the defenders of Azovstal who surrendered and registered by the International Committee of the Red Cross.
According to Borrell, “those who commit war crimes and other serious violations, as well as responsible government officials and military representatives, will be held accountable” because these “barbaric acts constitute serious violations of Geneva Conventions and amounts to war crimes.”
Torture video circulated by pro-Kremlin channels
A video in which two men in camouflage uniforms hold a man in a Ukrainian uniform to the ground and torture him with a clerical knife went viral on social networks at the end of July.
At the moment, it is not known who and when the video was shot, but on July 29, the second part of the video appeared on pro-Russian Telegram channels. Here, a tortured man is shot in the head. The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine has announced an investigation into a possible documented case of torture.
On the same day, in the village of Yelenovka, Volnovakhsky district, Donetsk region, a building of a correctional colony, where captured Ukrainian servicemen were kept, was fired upon. Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of shelling.
The Russian Defense Ministry says the blow was delivered by the Ukrainian military from the American MLRS HIMARS. According to the information of the General Staff of Ukraine, by attacking the colony, the Russians tried to hide the torture and killing of prisoners of war. Ukrainian intelligence believes that the killing of prisoners was organized by mercenaries of the private military company Wagner, without contacting it with the leadership of the Russian Defense Ministry.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.