Ukraine accuses Russia of sudden spike in POW killings

KYIV — Russian forces are summarily killing surrendering Ukrainian soldiers in increasing numbers on the battlefield, often shooting them point blank just after they have been taken prisoner, Ukrainian officials say.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, authorities have opened 43 criminal investigations into 113 possible arbitrary killings, with more than a third of those cases registered since the beginning of the year, according to Ukraine’s prosecutor general office. But that does not take into account the more recent spike.

“Since the end of last year, the number of such crimes has been steadily increasing,” the prosecutor general’s office said in written comments to The Washington Post. “We receive reports of such killings almost every week.”

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