Ukraine urged international organizations on Sunday to respond to reports of Ukrainian prisoners of war being executed in Russia’s Kursk region.
Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on Telegram that he sent letters to the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross regarding the case, calling it “another crime committed by the Russians.”
The reported executions took place in the region where Ukraine launched a major incursion in August.
According to DeepState, a Ukrainian battlefield analysis site close to Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, Russian troops shot and killed nine Ukrainian “drone operators and contractors” on Oct. 10 after they had surrendered.
In this image made from video released by the Russian Defense Ministry on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, a Russian sniper, in an undisclosed location, fires toward Ukrainian forces. Russian forces are accused of executing Ukrainian prisoners of war in the Kursk region.
Russian Defense Ministry Press Service/AP
Ukrainian Prosecutor-General Andriy Kostin said that his office had opened a criminal investigation.
This is not the first time Russia has been accused of killing prisoners of war. Earlier this month, the Prosecutor-General’s Office of Ukraine said that Russian troops had killed 16 captured Ukrainian soldiers in the partially occupied Donetsk region.
There was no immediate response from Russian officials.
On Sunday, the Ukrainian air force said that its air defenses shot down 31 of 68 drones launched at Ukraine by Russia overnight in the regions of Kyiv, Poltava, Chernihiv, Sumy and Cherkasy.
A further 36 drones were “lost” over various areas, it said, likely having been electronically jammed.
Ballistic missiles struck Odesa and Poltava while Chernihiv and Sumy came under attack by a guided air missile, the air force said.
Local authorities didn’t report any casualties or damage.
Russia launched around 900 guided aerial bombs, more than 40 missiles and 400 drones against Ukraine over the past week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday.
Zelensky appealed to Ukraine’s allies to “provide the necessary quantity and quality of air defense systems” and “make decisions for our sufficient range,” Zelensky said on X (formerly Twitter).
Ukraine has been requesting to use long range weapons provided by allies to hit targets on Russian soil, but has not yet been given permission.
Last week, Germany announced a new military aid package to Ukraine worth roughly $1.5 billion.
The announcement came during Zelensky’s European tour to rally support for his “victory plan” aimed at ending the war with Russia.
But in Poland, support for welcoming Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war with Russia has dropped to its lowest point since 2022, according to a new survey.
Meanwhile on Sunday, the Defense Ministry in Russia said 13 Ukrainian drones were shot down over three regions of Russia.
Six each were shot down in the Belgorod and Kursk regions, and one in the Bryansk region, all of which border Ukraine.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press
