They surrendered

Kiev accuses Kremlin of killing prisoners of war

The soldiers were apparently forced to line up before being shot at close range.(Bild: x.com/IAPonomarenko)

Ukraine has made serious accusations against Moscow's army: A video allegedly shows it killing 16 Ukrainian prisoners of war who had previously surrendered. The General Prosecutor's Office in Kiev stated that this could be a war crime.

The incident took place near the town of Pokrovsk on the eastern front, where the Russian army had stepped up its attacks. In a video shared on social media, the prisoners of war can be seen being executed as they "emerge from a forest under enemy control", the Ukrainian judiciary explained in a statement.

Soldiers are said to have been killed at close range
"After they had lined up in a row, the occupiers deliberately opened fire on them. Wounded soldiers who were still showing signs of life were killed at close range with an automatic weapon," it continued.

The video of the incident on X:

Prosecutor General speaks of "deliberate policy" by Moscow
The judiciary announced that the incident would be investigated. According to Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin, if the allegations are true, this is the worst case of the killing of Ukrainian prisoners of war at the front. "This is a deliberate policy of the Russian military and political leadership," Kostin told X.

Ukraine documented 130,000 Russian war crimes
Moscow has not yet commented on the allegations, but generally denies committing war crimes in Ukraine. However, it is not the only case that Ukrainian prosecutors have drawn attention to. In September, they announced that they were also investigating the deaths of at least 73 Ukrainian prisoners. According to Ukraine, they have documented more than 130,000 war crimes committed by the Kremlin since the Russian invasion, Reuters reported.