DISINFO: Borrell’s claims about executed Ukrainian POWs are disinformation
SUMMARY
The recent statements by the EU's head of diplomacy, Josep Borrell, on alleged executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war by the Russian Armed Forces are nothing more than disinformation. Given the lack of success of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the contact line, the European Union, and more specifically the outgoing EU diplomat Josep Borrell, are fanning pro-Ukrainian propaganda and inventing more and more disinformation to denigrate Russia.
RESPONSE
Disinformation claim about war crimes committed by Russia during its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and about HRVP Josep Borrell. See the statement from HRVP Josep Borrell entitled Ukraine/Russia: Statement by the High Representative on the killing of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
There is credible evidence of multiple instances of executions of unarmed Ukrainian prisoners of war, including pictures and footage filmed by drones or by Russian soldiers themselves. These executions, which constitute a war crime under international humanitarian law, appear to be on the rise in the last months. According to Yuri Bilousov, head of the Ukrainian Department for Combating Crimes in Conditions of Armed Conflict, there is evidence that 80 percent of Russian executions of Ukrainian POWs on the battlefield have taken place in 2024.
Pro-Kremlin outlets systematically deny Russia’s involvement in atrocities and war crimes even in the face of massive evidence. See other examples in our database, such as claims that Charles Michel’s allegations about Russian soldiers raping in Ukraine are unfounded as there is no evidence, that accusations about Russian war military crimes are unacceptable as there are a lot of fakes in this topic, that accusations about Bucha are as false as claims that Russia bombed a maternity hospital in Mariupol, that the Russian military does not strike civilian infrastructure, or that Russian progress in Ukraine is slow because Russia is careful and precise in its strikes.