Russian troops have taken complete control of the eastern city of Vuhledar. Picture shows partial view of the city — BBC KYIV, Oct 02 (AFP): Ukraine is probing allegations the Russian army shot dead 16 prisoners of war near the eastern city of Pokrovsk, Kyiv's prosecutor general said Tuesday.
Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly accused each other of killing POWs since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
"This is the largest known case of the execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war on the front line," Ukrainian prosecutor general Andriy Kostin said in a statement.
Kostin said the alleged incident showed that the "killing and torture of prisoners is not an accident but a deliberate policy of the Russian military and political leadership".
The probe-into allegations of the "violation of laws and customs of war" and "premeditated murder"-was launched based on videos shared on social media that appeared to show the execution of Ukrainian soldiers, Kostin said.
EU moves to sanction
Moscow over sabotage
attacks across Europe
The EU on Wednesday took a step towards sanctioning Russia for a string of recent hybrid and sabotage attacks across Europe, diplomats said.
The European Union and NATO have accused Moscow of being behind a spate of incidents aimed at destabilising the West as the two sides are at loggerheads over the Kremlin's war in Ukraine.
Authorities in several EU countries-including Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia-have reported uncovering plots or incidents including arson attacks masterminded by Moscow in recent months.
Ambassadors from the 27-nation EU meeting in Brussels approved setting up a new legal framework to impose visa bans and asset freezes on those responsible for the attacks.
Once the text is formally signed off next week the EU can then add the names of specific Russian agents or entities to the blacklist, diplomats said.
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