The video-recorded murders of ten Russian POWs in Ukrainian custody has drawn high-level Russian commitments to see the war crimes punished to the full extent of the law. The Russian Foreign Ministry released a statement yesterday by their spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova:
“These shocking videos are further evidence of the crimes committed by Ukrainian neo-Nazis. Ukraine is flagrantly violating international humanitarian law, specifically the 1949 Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War and international human rights laws, including the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the 1984 Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. We demand that international organizations condemn and thoroughly investigate this shocking crime. No atrocity committed by Ukrainian military units will remain unpunished. All those guilty and their accomplices will be identified and punished accordingly. Nobody will escape retribution.”
Also, Russia’s First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyanskyi (second in the mission after Ambassador Nebenzia) wrote on Nov. 19 on his Telegram channel: “Today, as an official document of the Security Council and the General Assembly, we circulated a letter to the UN Secretary General with information about new evidence of Ukraine’s cruel treatment of Russian prisoners of war and an appeal to A. Guterres to stop Kyiv’s violations of international humanitarian law.
“We will continue to focus the attention of foreign colleagues on these and other crimes of the Kiev regime during the meetings of the Security Council and the UN General Assembly.” (https://t.me/s/dpol_un/404 )
Former Russian President, now Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev was less polite: “I was taught at the university years ago in criminal law. And I was told that criminal punishment consists of two elements: punishment, on the one hand, and conditions for the correction and re-education of the guilty person, on the other. And only the death penalty is pure punishment for obvious reasons. According to the principle of ‘life for life,’ which has been known since Old Testament times (Leviticus 24:20).
“The Ukrainian bastards who shot Russian servicemen should suffer no punishment other than that which is pure punishment. Even if it takes years to find them.”
