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Ukraine reports intercepted orders to execute prisoners of war
Ukrainian military officials say intercepted communications show Russian commanders issuing direct orders to execute Ukrainian prisoners of war along multiple front line sectors. The claims point to a pattern of conduct rather than isolated battlefield abuses, according to senior Ukrainian officers and prosecutors monitoring alleged war crimes since the start of the invasion.
Major Oleh Shyriaiev, who commands Ukraine’s 225th separate assault battalion, said his unit regularly captures radio traffic in which Russian forces instruct troops to kill Ukrainian soldiers attempting to surrender. He told the Times that such orders appear repeatedly in intercepted calls and radio transmissions, indicating a routine practice rather than spontaneous acts by individual units.
Ukrainian prosecutors say they have documented at least 147 executions of prisoners of war since Russia launched its full scale invasion in 2022, with a sharp rise recorded in 2025. Investigators report that many incidents occurred during the summer and autumn. Recent cases include the killing of two unarmed Ukrainian soldiers on 27 December in the village of Chakhove near Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region, as well as separate executions south of Huliaipole in the Zaporijjia region and in the direction of Siversk.
Officials at the office of the prosecutor general say the geographic spread and frequency of the cases point to an organised policy. The United Nations human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine has also recorded dozens of executions since August 2024, citing video evidence showing captured Ukrainian soldiers shot at close range. Under international law, the deliberate killing of prisoners of war violates the Third Geneva Convention and constitutes a war crime.
The allegations emerged as diplomatic efforts to end the conflict continued. Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously denied mistreatment of Ukrainian prisoners, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for stronger international accountability. The issue resurfaced during late December talks involving United States President Donald Trump and Zelensky, where officials said discussions on a possible peace framework were advancing despite unresolved disputes.
