On Sunday, Ukrainian authorities initiated an inquiry into claims that Russian military personnel executed Ukrainian soldiers who were surrendering. This came after a blurry video circulated on social media showing two men in uniform being fired upon from a short distance after emerging from a bunker.

According to a recent update on Telegram, the prosecutor’s office stated that the video depicts individuals dressed in Russian uniforms firing at close range. The targets were two unarmed military personnel wearing the uniform of the Ukrainian Armed Forces who were in the process of surrendering.

On Saturday, a video was posted on DeepState, a well-known Ukrainian Telegram channel that reports on the war. The footage captures soldiers surrendering, with one of them holding their hands up and all of them being forced to lie down on the ground at gunpoint. Shortly after, a group of Russian troops can be seen firing at the soldiers. Russia has not yet issued a response.

It was not initially feasible to confirm the validity of the video or the context in which it was recorded, and the exact timing of the event was unclear. If the occurrence is verified, it would constitute a violation of war laws, as stated by the Ukrainian General Prosecutor’s office.

Kyiv, along with its Western allies and various international human rights groups, has repeatedly made accusations against Moscow for violating international humanitarian law during its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The Kremlin has denied these claims.

The Ukrainian human rights ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, stated on Telegram that the event is a clear demonstration of Russia’s disregard for international humanitarian laws.

On Sunday, Russia’s RIA news agency stated that Tatiana Moskalkova, the country’s human rights commissioner, and Lubinets intend to conduct reciprocal visits to prisoners of war.

“According to RIA, Moskalkova stated that Russian military personnel will visit the Ukrainian side and Ukrainian military personnel will visit the Russian side. These visits will occur multiple times following a set schedule.”

On the social platform X (formerly known as Twitter), Lubinets announced that 119 Ukrainian soldiers being held captive in Russia were able to receive a visit. This was made possible through a mutual agreement between the Offices of the Commissioners of Ukraine and the Russian Federation.

Battlefield reports

According to the Russian defense ministry, Russian troops claim to have attacked the air defense headquarters and alert center in the city of Dnipro, located in eastern Ukraine, on Sunday.

The ministry announced that it carried out coordinated attacks utilizing operational-tactical and army aviation, unmanned aerial vehicles, missile forces, and artillery.

On Sunday, Ukraine stated that their air defense systems successfully intercepted and destroyed 10 out of 12 Russian drones before they could reach their intended targets in Ukraine. In a report released today, Russia claimed that they had launched 12 drones and a cruise missile towards Ukraine during the previous night, resulting in the destruction of fuel depots in the Myrhorod and Poltava regions, as well as an ammunition arsenal in the Mykolaiv region. Additionally, Russia reported targeting manpower and equipment in 107 different districts.

At the moment, the Reuters news agency cannot verify the reports from the battlefield.

According to local authorities, an older man lost his life due to Russian bombardment in the Kherson region of Ukraine on Sunday.

According to the Kherson military administration on Telegram, the Sadove village was targeted by attackers. During the attack, a private garage was hit and a 78-year-old man who was inside at the time died immediately from the explosion.

The report could not be verified by Reuters.

Since late last year, after Russian troops withdrew from Kherson and the western bank of the Dnipro River, they have been frequently firing at those regions from their positions on the eastern bank of the river.

The Ukrainian military’s representative, Oleksandr Shtupun, reported on national television that the number of Russian attacks on Avdiivka had decreased by half in the last day, primarily due to significant losses suffered by the Russian side.

“The Ukrainian armed forces are in charge of managing the coking plant,” Shtupun reported. “The opposing forces are attempting to penetrate it, but they are facing casualties among their soldiers and equipment.”

According to the popular Russian war blog Rybar, fighting in the “industrial zone” outside the town center was still fierce and had been taken over by Russian forces.

Reuters was unable to confirm the authenticity of accounts from either party.

According to Vitaliy Barabash, the leader of the town’s military administration, Avdiivka is resembling Maryinka, a village that has been completely destroyed and no longer exists. He stated, “It has been reduced to rubble and its original foundations.”

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Mariinka, a former bustling city with a population of 10,000, is now an abandoned ghost town in the southwest region of Donetsk, which is currently under Russian control. After nearly a year of Russian attempts to capture the city, there are no longer any residents remaining.

On Saturday, the Energy Ministry of Ukraine announced on Telegram that the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which had experienced a power outage on Friday, has now had its power restored.

The statement stated that this was the eighth power outage at the Zaporizhzhia plant, which had the potential to cause a nuclear disaster. The International Atomic Energy Agency has verified the occurrence and resolution of the blackout.

Last year in March, Russia took control of the plant. Although it is currently not producing electricity, one of its four reactors is still in a state of hot conservation and requires a source of electricity to maintain cooling operations.

The ministry reported that when the plant lost connection to the grid, it activated 20 backup generators to meet its electricity demands.

The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, and Reuters contributed to the information in this report.

Source: voanews.com