Armed confrontation on the Pokrovsk direction: Russian occupiers brutally executed Ukrainian prisoners of war
May 22, 2025, dawn was marked by a tragic event near the village of Udachne in the Pokrovsk district: Russian military personnel, who were conducting assault operations against Ukrainian defense forces, captured two Ukrainian defenders as prisoners of war, and later mercilessly shot them. According to information released by the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, the situation at the positions initially remained tense, but the rhythm of hostilities quickly turned into a tragedy for Ukrainian soldiers. At the moment of the attack on Ukrainian strongholds located near the village of Udachne, four servicemen of the Ukrainian Armed Forces participated in combat. Of these, two were captured by Russians during the assault and subsequently murdered brutally, using automatic weapons, leaving them unarmed and defenseless in a forest strip. The fate of the other two defenders remains unknown. Official representatives currently have no information regarding their condition or whereabouts. Prosecutors emphasize that such a targeted and legally unfounded killing of prisoners of war constitutes a violation of international treaties, notably the Geneva Conventions of 1949, which regulate the treatment of prisoners. Deliberately killing armed suspects protected under international law is classified as a serious international crime. Urgent investigative and search operations are underway to clarify all circumstances of this bloody incident and to identify the names of all those involved in committing the crime. The focus of law enforcement is to establish who issued the orders, who directly carried out this brutal murder, and to ensure accountability for these shameful actions in accordance with international law. This event once again highlights the severity of human losses and violations of humanitarian law during the current war, which has already become one of the most brutal in Ukraine’s modern history. Ukraine is committed to not neglecting any cases of abuse and to seeking just punishment for the perpetrators, so that this crime remains unpunished and that the global community clearly condemns such brazen violations of human rights during conflicts.