A video showing Russian soldiers executing six unarmed Ukrainian prisoners of war is “appalling,” according to Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kyiv–Halych and Primate of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
The video, which has circulated widely on social media since January 23, shows Russian soldiers taking turns shooting unarmed Ukrainian POWs in their backs. At the end of the video, one of the Russian soldiers says: “One is mine,” and a seventh soldier is shown on the ground. However, it is not known if anything happened to him.
“According to preliminary data, during an assault on the positions of Ukrainian troops in Donetsk region, the occupiers captured six servicemen of the Ukrainian Defense Forces and subsequently shot them dead,” the Prosecutor General’s office said in a January 23 statement.
“The execution of prisoners of war is a serious violation of the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War and is classified as a grave international crime. Investigative actions are currently underway to establish all the circumstances of the crime and the persons involved in its commission,” the statement said.
Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014 and launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russia has been making slow advances in Ukraine, but is suffering huge casualties, as are the Ukrainians.
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In a video message, Shevchuk said Russia is determined to achieve their political aims by military means at any cost, and are sacrificing thousands of their soldiers daily in “savage” assaults.
“It is a carnage,” the Major Archbishop said.
“However, we were most appalled last week by the footage of the brutal execution of six of our prisoners of war and the fact that the Russian who executed them wore a sticker with an icon of the Uncreated Savior on his chest. It is a truly ghastly scene … Christian conscience cannot tolerate this,” Shevchuk said.
“A sacrilegious war cannot be justified. Defenseless victims must not be slaughtered in the name of God. Pope Francis has unequivocally defined the current situation. This is no longer a war, as it does not respect military customs and rules and international humanitarian law— it is thuggery,” he added.
Shevchuk’s statement on a “sacrilegious war” highlight’s the fact the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been strongly supported by Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow.
The Orthodox Patriarch told Russian state news agency TASS in an interview broadcast on the state television Jan. 7, Orthodox Christmas.
Kirill said Russia is a “young and very strong civilization” that is fighting a “biblical battle” against the “sick West.”
The Ukrainian Catholic leader also pointed to the fact the nation’s cities and villages were being shelled by the Russians every night.
“Despite the brutal realities that we cannot reconcile or get used to, we want the world to hear the voice of our people once again: Ukraine stands! Ukraine fights! Ukraine prays!” Shevchuk said.
Recent surveys show a majority of Ukrainians are in favor with having peace talks with Russia, as long as they aren’t defeatist. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin told state television this week he cannot speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky because of his “illegitimacy,” due to the fact Ukraine hasn’t been able to hold elections since the 2022 invasion began.
In his video, the Major Archbishop said last week was a special time for listening to women and mothers, “who are relatives and friends of those who went missing or were taken captive by Russia from our territorial self-defense units.”
“In this conversation with women, I was most struck by the story that our captives, imprisoned hostages, are not even allowed to pray. Russia treats them like animals, saying that animals do not pray. Prisoners of war are denied all religious attributes, including a Cross and the Holy Scriptures,” he said.
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