- Category
- Latest news
Ukraine Launches War Crimes Probe Into Russian Torture and Execution of POWs in Donetsk
- Authors
![Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko]( "Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko")
Ukrainian prosecutors have documented another war crime committed by Russian forces against Ukrainian prisoners of war in Donetsk region, the Office of the Prosecutor General reported on August 29.
According to the investigation, in August 2025, near the village of Myroliubivka in the Hrodivka community, Russian troops captured a Ukrainian serviceman and took him to the basement of an occupied house, where seven other Ukrainian defenders were being held on their knees with their hands tied.
During interrogations, Russian soldiers tortured the prisoners, inflicted severe bodily injuries, and mutilated them by cutting off parts of their bodies. One Ukrainian defender had his throat slit. The occupiers then dumped the bodies of the prisoners into a pit and covered them with debris, believing they had all died.
However, one of the prisoners survived. Despite a slit throat, he managed to reach Ukrainian positions after five days.
A pre-trial investigation has been launched under Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine—violation of the laws and customs of war combined with intentional killing. Prosecutors have questioned the survivor, and efforts are underway to identify all Russian servicemen involved in the crime.
The investigation is being conducted by the Security Service of Ukraine in Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Earlier, it was reported that Russia announced its intention to withdraw from the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture, a move Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said amounts to admitting systematic human rights abuses.
-24ca8683eb01b729cd8fae98f952003a.jpg "Ukrainian Ratel-S drone equipped with a downed Shahed warhead. (Source: omelyanovi4/Instagram)")
-0158b6b681e3668f470de36aedad9e3c.jpg "Russian Su-24 bomber moments before Ukrainian drone strike, Crimea. (Source: HUR)")
