Russians execute 16 Ukrainian POWs in active war zone of Donetsk Oblast, marking largest known battlefield killing

The Russian army has shot 16 Ukrainian prisoners of war dead near the villages of Mykolaivka and Sukhyi Yar, Pokrovsk district, Donetsk Oblast – marking the largest known execution of Ukrainian POWs on the battlefield.

Russian troops executing surrendered Ukrainian soldiers

According to the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine, On 1 October 2024, Telegram channels reported the likely execution of 16 Ukrainian servicemen by representatives of the Russian Armed Forces.

“According to media reports, Russian occupiers committed this latest war crime near the villages of Mykolaivka and Sukhyi Yar in the Pokrovsk district. The released video shows captured Ukrainian soldiers emerging from a forested area under enemy control. Once they had formed a line, the occupiers deliberately opened fire, shooting to kill. They shot those showing signs of life at point-blank range with automatic weapons,” the statement read.

The Prosecutor General’s Office is verifying the posted material. Prosecutor General Andrii Kostin described this as the largest known execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war on the battlefield.

Law enforcers have emphasised that these actions constitute a flagrant violation of the Geneva Conventions and are classified as a grave international crime.

To provide background, on September 6, 2024, CNN released a video apparently showing Russian troops executing three Ukrainian soldiers after they surrendered on the Pokrovsk front.

In the footage, soldiers are seen stumbling out of a building and onto a dusty track, then kneeling with their hands on their heads. Moments later, a Ukrainian drone captures them lying face down, motionless, with dust swirling around them.

CNN exclusively obtained the video, which reportedly shows Russian troops executing three Ukrainians who had surrendered after their trench was captured during the fighting near the town of Pokrovsk in Ukraine’s east in late August.

Earlier, Ukraine’s Radiation, Chemical, and Biological Defence Intelligence Groups from the Support Forces Command have documented 4,035 instances of Russian troops using special munitions with hazardous chemicals since February 2023, including 447 cases in August 2024 alone.

The Сommand of the Ukrainian Support Forces noted Russian forces continue to use chemical munitions against the Ukrainian military, including K-51s and RG-VOs, which are anti-riot agents and are prohibited for use as weapons of war.

Moreover, most of the recorded cases involve munitions containing hazardous chemicals of unspecified type. In August alone, authorities recorded 447 such cases.

Ukraine’s defense forces emphasised that Russia is grossly violating the rules of warfare, ignoring the norms and obligations under the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction.

In April 2024, the Command of Ukraine’s Support Forces stated that Russian troops’ use of chemical agents during hostilities against the Ukrainian defense forces had become systematic. Between February 2023 and March 2024, authorities recorded 1,412 cases of Russian forces using chemical munitions.