US claims credible reports of Russian troops executing surrendering Ukrainians in Donetsk

United States' Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice, Beth Van Schaack stated at a United Nations (UN) meeting on Wednesday that the US had strong evidence that Russia executed Ukrainians who tried to surrender in the Donetsk region. After failing to conquer the capital city of Kyiv, Russia has concentrated its efforts in the Donetsk area. Notably, the executions are part of a growing list of war crimes that Russia is accused of committing, including civilian targeting, kidnapping, torture, and rape.

"We now have credible information that a Russian military unit operating in the vicinity of Donetsk executed Ukrainians who were attempting to surrender, rather than take them into custody," Van Schaack claimed at a United Nations Security Council discussion on Ukraine responsibility.

"If accurate, this would be a violation of a basic principle of international law: the prohibition on the summary execution of civilians and combatants who are hors of fight due to surrender, wounded, or other types of incapacitation," she continued.

'The world is watching, and you will be held accountable': Beth Van Schaack

It is worth mentioning here that the United States has already called Russia's activities "genocide" and imposed hundreds of sanctions aimed at the Russian economy in an attempt to hobble the invasion. In the midst of the conflict, it has also provided Ukraine with billions of dollars in military aid.

"Our simple message to Russia’s military and political leadership and to the rank-and-file is this: the world is watching, and you will be held accountable," Schaack added.

Russia-Ukraine War

Moreover, five million Ukrainians have fled their country two months into the conflict, with millions more internally displaced as a result of the fighting. However, Russia has refuted the claims of war crimes and maintains that the invasion was a "special military operation" aimed at liberating Ukraine.

Furthermore, Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned the West that any country interfering in the Ukraine crisis and posing "strategic dangers to Russia" will be met with a "lightening fast" response. In addition, the potential of nuclear war, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, is extremely real, and the consequences should not be underestimated.

Image: AP