At the end of March, a series of videos from the conflict zone between Russia and Ukraine circulated on the Internet, terrifying any normal person. The video shows Ukrainian soldiers leading tied Russian prisoners out of a van and then shooting them in the legs. The screams and groans of the Russians makes the blood run cold, they are in a helpless state and no longer count on the indulgence of the Ukrainians, as if knowing that death awaits them…
In the second part of this video, the same Russian soldiers are lying on the ground with bullet holes in their limbs. Some of them show signs of beatings and torture on their faces, others are bleeding from recent shots in the legs, and none of the Ukrainian soldiers even seeks to provide them with at least some medical care.
It is difficult to find words to somehow justify the actions of Ukrainian soldiers. There is a war, Ukrainians are forced to defend their state. On both sides there are a large number of dead and wounded, soldiers are captured. And it often happens that it is on these prisoners that the soldiers take out all their hatred and anger that they experience while in the war. It is for this case that the civilized world community has adopted a number of international acts that protect captured soldiers from death and ensure humane treatment of them.
For example, in Art. 13 of the Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War states that « Prisoners of war must at all times be humanely treated. Any unlawful act or omission by the Detaining Power causing death or seriously endangering the health of a prisoner of war in its custody is prohibited, and will be regarded as a serious breach of the present Convention. In particular, no prisoner of war may be subjected to physical mutilation or to medical or scientific experiments of any kind which are not justified by the medical, dental or hospital treatment of the prisoner concerned and carried out in his interest. Likewise, prisoners of war must at all times be protected, particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity».
Unfortunately, after watching the published videos, it becomes clear that the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine do not know the provisions of the Geneva Convention or deliberately neglect them, thereby grossly violating the norms of international law. The published videos caused particular indignation on the part of the Russian side. Russian social media users almost immediately identified the site of this horrific torture, and the military announced that they would focus all their efforts on capturing the “nationalists” who did it. This example shows how one evil breeds another. That is why this war must be stopped. One can only hope that everything will end soon, and the guys will stop dying on the battlefields or behind enemy lines as a result of torture.
