NEWS
NEWS

UN confirms sharp increase in executions of Ukrainian soldiers captured by Russia

Updated

In 2024, 109 cases of executions of Ukrainian soldiers by Russia were recorded, double the number from the previous two years

Firefighters put out a fire following a Russian missile attack on the country's energy system in Dnipropetrovsk.
Firefighters put out a fire following a Russian missile attack on the country's energy system in Dnipropetrovsk.AP

International organizations continue to closely monitor the war in Ukraine, where human rights are constantly violated. The UN has expressed concern over the significant increase in executions of Ukrainian soldiers captured by the Russian Armed Forces on the front line, having documented 79 such executions in 24 different incidents since late August 2024.

Many Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered to the Russian Army and were unarmed and injured were shot dead on the spot, according to detailed interviews with witnesses and video and photographic material published by Ukrainian and Russian sources and analyzed by the mission.

On the other hand, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced in his address to the nation that he is working with the top leadership of the Armed Forces on the modernization and restructuring of the Army into larger units, a plan announced weeks ago that aims to leverage the potential of the best brigades and improve coordination on the front line.

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that US President Donald Trump's comments suggesting that he wants Ukraine to supply rare earth minerals to Washington show that he now wants Kiev to pay for American assistance instead of receiving it for free, Reuters reports.

Trump told reporters on Monday that Ukraine was willing to engage in the exchange, adding that he wants a "quid pro quo" from Ukraine for the "close to $300 billion" in support from Washington.

Donald Trump stated that he wants to negotiate a "deal" with Ukraine for assurances on its rare earth minerals, widely used in electronics, in exchange for American aid, AFP reports.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had raised that idea last October as part of his "victory plan" to end the war with Russia.

"We are trying to strike a deal with Ukraine where they guarantee us their rare earth minerals and other things in exchange for what we are giving them," the US President told journalists in the Oval Office of the White House.

Ukrainian air defenses have shot down 37 Russian Shahed kamikaze drones and other models over five regions in the north, center, and northeast of the country since last night, as reported by the Ukrainian Air Force.

The interceptions took place over the regions of Poltava and Cherkasy (center), Sumy (northeast), and Chernihiv and Kyiv (north).

Another 28 replica drones of the attacks - launched by Russia to deceive enemy defenses - crashed without causing damage.

The drones caused damage in the Sumy and Cherkasy regions.

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) estimates that North Korean troops sent to support the Russian invasion of Ukraine have not engaged in combat on the front line in the Kursk region since mid-January, Efe reports.

Sources from the NIS cited on Tuesday by the Yonhap agency indicated that "since mid-January, there have been no signs of North Korean troops deployed in the Russian region of Kursk engaging in combat."

This assertion corroborates statements made by Ukrainian and American authorities last week, indicating that troops from the Asian country have been withdrawn from the front line for about three weeks due to the high number of casualties suffered and may be receiving additional combat training from the Russian Army.

Ukraine has returned home 12 children kidnapped by Russia, said the chief of staff of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Andriy Yermak, as reported by Reuters. "As part of the Ukrainian President's initiative Bring Kids Back UA, it was possible to bring home 12 children who were under the pressure of Russian occupation," Yermak said on his Telegram messaging app.

The Bring Kids Back UA program under Zelensky is an initiative to bring back all children forcibly deported from Ukraine, according to the initiative's statement.

Among the returned children are a 16-year-old girl who lost her mother, a 17-year-old boy who was summoned to the Russian army, and an eight-year-old girl, Yermak said.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Argentine Rafael Grossi, arrived in Ukraine on Tuesday to visit a substation in the Kiev region critical for the safety of Ukraine's nuclear energy.

According to Grossi's own account on X, his mission will consist of "assessing the damage and helping to prevent a nuclear accident." The IAEA chief added that "an increasingly fragile (electric) grid poses a risk to all nuclear power plants, not just the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant."