Russians shoot captured Ukrainian defender in Donetsk region

Law enforcement authorities have launched a pre-trial investigation into the shooting of a captured Ukrainian defender by Russian troops on July 13 near the village of Yalta in the Donetsk region. According to Ukrinform, the Prosecutor General's Office reported this on Facebook. "On July 13, 2026, at 2:42 p.m., near the village of Yalta in the Komar rural community, representatives of the Russian army took a serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine prisoner.

After interrogation, one of the occupiers gave the order to execute the Ukrainian defender, and another shot him with a firearm, the statement reads. Under the procedural guidance of the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor's Office, a pre-trial investigation has been launched into the commission of a war crime resulting in the death of a person (Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). Urgent investigative measures are underway to establish all the circumstances of the incident and identify the Russian military personnel involved in this crime.

The Prosecutor General's Office emphasized that the murder of prisoners of war constitutes a gross violation of the Geneva Conventions and is classified as a serious international crime. As reported by Ukrinform, since February 2022, the Russian army has executed 129 Ukrainian prisoners of war and individuals who had ceased participating in hostilities.."