16:50 06.04.2022

Russian troops kidnap Ukrainian civilian men to pass them off as POWs

2 min read
Russian troops kidnap Ukrainian civilian men to pass them off as POWs

Russian troops in the occupied Ukrainian territories are massively kidnapping Ukrainian civilians for further representation as prisoners of war (POWs), Liudmyla Denisova, Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, has said.

"There is evidence that, while retreating from Kyiv region, Russian troops abducted Ukrainian civilians, who are now shown in the Russian media as 'prisoners' of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Our citizens were dressed in military uniforms and forced to participate in propaganda videos on YouTube and TV channels. One of the men on the video were identified by his relatives," Denisova wrote on the Telegram channel on Wednesday.

Also, a Ukrainian soldier released from Russian captivity reported on the mass capture of civilians, who stated that there were more than 40 civilian prisoners in the Kursk pretrial detention center.

In addition, the Russian media began to disseminate information about the alleged liquidation of 93 "Ukrainian deserters" from Mariupol, who fled in civilian clothes.

"In fact, this may indicate a mass execution of civilians in Ukraine," the Ombudsperson said.

She stressed that such actions of the Russian Federation are a war crime and a crime against humanity in accordance with Articles 7 and 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and a direct violation of Articles 3 and 34 of the Geneva Convention for the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, Articles 9 and 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

"I call on the UN Commission to Investigate Human Rights Violations During Russia's Invasion of Ukraine and the expert mission established by the OSCE participating States in accordance with the Moscow Mechanism to take into account these crimes and human rights violations of the Russian Federation in Ukraine," Denisova urged.

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