Ukraine investigates executions of 268 prisoners of war by Russians

Ukrainian law enforcement officials are investigating the executions of 268 Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russia.

Yuriy Belousov, head of the Department for Combating Crimes Committed in the Context of Armed Conflict of the Prosecutor General’s Office, reported this in a commentary to Ukrinform.

Yuriy Belousov shared that 208 prisoners of war were executed on the battlefield and 59 were executed in the Olenivka colony.

According to Belousov, the trend of executions of prisoners of war on the battlefield is growing every year.

“While in 2023, 11 prisoners were executed on the battlefield, in 2024 – 149. In the first few months of this year, 51 have already been executed,” he said.

The head of the Department of War said that Ukrainian courts have handed down three sentences to those guilty of executing Ukrainian prisoners of war.

Ukrainian law enforcement agencies also have several Russian military officers who are believed to be involved in the executions of prisoners.

This year, the Special Operations Forces captured a group of Russian occupiers who had shot and killed Ukrainian troops. Investigations into other cases are ongoing.

A separate area of investigation is the murder of Ukrainian prisoners in the Olenivka prison.

“The head of the institution and his deputy have been notified of suspicion for failing to provide medical assistance after the explosion, which resulted in the deaths of nine people. The investigation into the organization of the explosion itself is still ongoing. This area is one of our priorities,” Belousov noted.

Last year, Sweden allocated EUR 2.4 million to Ukraine to investigate war crimes committed by the Russian occupiers. The funds will be used to improve the digital infrastructure of justice and judicial proceedings in Ukraine, which will allow for more efficient criminal cases of war crimes.

Thanks to this substantial funding, the SMEREKA electronic case management system will be implemented.

It will transform the work of Ukrainian law enforcement agencies and prosecutors with complex international criminal cases. By improving data storage and optimizing case management, this initiative will speed up the process of bringing perpetrators to justice.