Ukraine claims that five prisoners of war were executed by Russian forces

The Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office claimed Friday that five Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed by Russian soldiers in a single event in eastern Ukraine last month.

The five unarmed soldiers were captured during an Oct. 2 assault on their position in the eastern town of Vuhledar by Russian troops, who then shot them, according to a statement from the authorities.

Two blurry aerial photos of the event were included with the statement, but Reuters was unable to independently verify them.

Senior prosecutor Taras Semkiv told Ukrainian television on Friday that prosecutors have launched a war-crimes inquiry into the alleged murder of 54 Ukrainian prisoners of war, one of 13 such investigations launched in the last two months.

Although Russia has denied committing war crimes in the past, it did not immediately comment on the incident.