The Human Rights Commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets, has appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN to conduct an investigation into the circumstances of the shooting of soldiers, who were executed by Russians during the withdrawal of Ukrainian Armed Forces from Avdiivka.
According to his post on Telegram, "As the ombudsman of Ukraine, I have urgently sent letters to the ICRC and the UN to document this war crime and clarify all the circumstances. I call on the entire civilized world to unite and increase pressure on the terrorist country because Russia does not recognize laws and agreements. They only understand force," stated Lubinets.
He emphasized that this is not the first time Russia has grossly violated the norms of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions by executing prisoners of war.
Lubinets added that the evacuation from Avdiivka was taking place amidst continuous bombardments, making it difficult to evacuate heavily wounded soldiers. The Russians were shelling evacuation routes and vehicles.
"Due to the complete encirclement of the 'Zenith' strongpoint, the command decided to contact the coordination center and organizations negotiating with the enemy side. Dialogue was aimed at providing assistance to our heavily wounded unarmed soldiers, in accordance with international laws and rules protecting prisoners of war," the ombudsman reported.
He noted that the Russian forces agreed to preserve the lives of the heavily wounded unarmed soldiers, provide them with assistance, and exchange them. However, they were eventually executed.
"The families of the defenders identified Georgiy Pavlov, Andriy Dubnytsky, and Ivan Zhytnyk as among the deceased. Alexander Zinchiuk and Mykola Savosik, who were shot by Russian soldiers, were also with them. Information regarding the sixth soldier is not yet confirmed," Lubinets reported.
