Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets reacted to a video allegedly showing Russian troops executing Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) on Dec. 22, vowing to report "another crime" to the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to seek justice.

The Ukrainian prosecution service says that at least 147 Ukrainian prisoners of war have been executed by Russian forces since the start of the full-scale invasion, 127 of them this year. "The upward trend is very clear, very obvious," says Yuri Belousov, the head of the War Department at the Ukrainian Prosecutor-General's Office.

The issue of Russia’s alleged use of chemical weapons in Ukraine was put firmly on the international agenda in May 2024, when the US imposed new sanctions on Russia, accusing it of resorting to the use of tear gas and chloropicrin, an odourless toxic irritant, on the battlefield in Ukraine.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has responded to the execution of Ukrainian soldiers, noting that Russian commanders condone these executions, which is a clear violation of international law.

Russian forces have once again executed Ukrainian prisoners of war, as recorded by drone operators from the 110th Brigade. Earlier, the BBC reported that Russian forces are increasingly executing Ukrainian prisoners of war.