Over 300 Ukrainian prisoners of war have been sentenced by illegal occupation and Russian courts, according to the Office of the Prosecutor General.

The occupiers systematically commit war crimes against Ukrainian prisoners of war, particularly disregarding their right to a fair trial. According to the materials from the pre-trial investigation, Ukrainian prosecutors have information about the conviction of at least 311 servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, of which 251 were sentenced by an illegal supreme court in occupied Donetsk, 47 in Luhansk, and 13 in the Southern District Military Court of the Russian Federation.

This was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General in response to an information request from the publication ZMINA.

Ukrainian investigators have reported suspicions of war crimes related to violations of the right to a fair trial against at least ten individuals, and have sent indictments against three to court.

These criminal proceedings investigate the involvement of military-political leadership, employees of the investigative committee, prosecutors, and judges of the aggressor state in the fabrication of criminal cases and the illegal prosecution of Ukrainian defenders.

During his stay in occupied Luhansk, the head of the Russian Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, stated that as of the end of October 2024, 438 servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine had been tried in Russia, and 58 received life sentences.

Foreign legion prisoners of war are also being tried in Russia, with reports of around three dozen such sentences. Additionally, approximately 70 criminal cases against eight hundred legionnaires have been submitted to Russian and illegal occupation courts.

The Office of the Prosecutor General notes that Russia grossly violates international humanitarian law regarding the legal immunity of Ukrainian military personnel. According to the Geneva Conventions, they cannot be held accountable for participating in military operations under any circumstances.

“If we delve into these cases, we will see massive violations of procedural guarantees concerning lawyers and equality in the process. For instance, a violation occurs when the prosecution presents evidence to the court while the defendant is restricted in this right. Or when the court 'turns a blind eye' to important arguments that refute the prosecution's claims. Let's also remember the presumption of innocence. The videos where Ukrainian soldiers are forced to confess to certain 'crimes' even before the trial are filmed by the enemy with one goal – to create the impression that they have caught a 'criminal.' However, this violates the presumption of innocence of that individual, as only a competent court is authorized to establish guilt,” – explained in an interview with MIPCH, officer of the International Law Department of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Maksym Tymochko.

We remind you that in occupied Donetsk, they held a trial against the defenders of Mariupol, resulting in the imprisonment of eight marine prisoners of war.