Recently, Russian troops have significantly increased the number of cases of systematic executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war, while simultaneously violating international conventions by using chemical weapons. This is a serious violation of the Geneva Convention and the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which were signed and ratified by Russia. This is stated in analysis Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
According to Ukrainian officials, on October 18 near the city of Selidove, Donetsk region, Russian soldiers executed two Ukrainian prisoners of war. The soldiers, who were without weapons, were tied up and shot at close range. This is yet another proof of the strengthening of the practice of execution of prisoners of war by the Russian military.
ISW experts emphasize that these actions are a direct violation of the Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War, which prohibits torture, ill-treatment and execution. Recently, a Russian military blogger also published a video confirming the use of the lung-damaging pesticide chlorpicrin by Russian forces during hostilities against Ukrainian forces.
As early as May 2023, the US State Department stated that it had established the use of chemicals such as chloropicrin and anti-riot agents (RCA) by Russian forces in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention. Ukrainian officials have repeatedly reported that the Russian military is using chemical substances in the form of chloropicrin grenades, which further complicates the situation on the battlefield.
As noted in ISW, such a systematic practice of war crimes indicates a low level of discipline among Russian troops, as well as the lack of responsibility of commanders, who not only do not prevent the criminal actions of their subordinates, but perhaps even encourage them to similar behavior. At this time, there is no evidence that Russia is prosecuting those who violate the laws of war.
