Ombudsman Lubinets: Russia executed 109 Ukrainian POWs in 2024

Ukraine’s Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubynets revealed an increase in confirmed executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russian forces during a televised marathon.

Accordign to Lubinets, Russian forces killed 109 Ukrainian prisoners of war in 2024 alone.

The execution of Ukrainian POWs by Russian forces is reported as systemic, violating international law. Despite evidences, the Kremlin denies these war crimes. In total, Ukraine has launched nearly 170,000 investigations into war crimes and national security violations since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.

“We are increasingly able to officially document violations of Ukrainian prisoners of war’s rights, shootings, and cynical point-blank executions, unfortunately,” he said.

This figure represents a significant escalation compared to previous years of the full-scale war. Prior to 2024, Ukrainian authorities had documented 177 total cases of such executions.

Lubynets emphasized that intelligence and law enforcement agencies have consistently reported systematic violations of prisoners’ rights.

“Unfortunately, I could not go out and publicly show these examples of cynical violations of international humanitarian law, the Geneva Conventions,” he said. “When we manage to document these incidents, we do so.”

On 24 November, Russian forces reportedly executed five captured Ukrainian soldiers near Novodarivka in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

The Office of the Prosecutor General reported a monthly increase in executed prisoners. In October and November alone, prosecutors opened 13 cases involving the execution of 54 Ukrainian prisoners—representing one-third of such proceedings in 2024.