Search
Close this search box.

Ukraine calls on the Russian Federation to adhere to the Geneva Conventions after the death of a Ukrainian prisoner of war

Foto:Telegram

July 31, Ukraine – Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets called on the Russian Federation to strictly adhere to the Geneva Conventions by providing medical aid and creating a mixed medical commission for the repatriation of the seriously ill and wounded. The call was made in response to the death of Oleksandr Ishchenko, a 55-year-old defender from Mariupol who died in a Russian detention center after a trial on trumped-up charges.

Ishchenko, who served as a driver in the “Azov” regiment, was sentenced in May by a court in Rostov-on-Don to 18 years of imprisonment in a high-security prison. His daughter reported that her father died nine days ago, but the Ukrainian side has not received an official notification of his death or the cause.

Lubinets, speaking on his Telegram channel, said that he immediately turned to the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation with a request to understand the circumstances of Ishchenko’s death and to provide official information about the reasons. He also informed the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the UN about this case, calling on them to intervene.

This tragic event emphasizes the need to observe international legal norms regarding prisoners of war. Ukraine insists that the Russian Federation provide adequate medical care to prisoners held on its territory and create a mixed medical commission that could ensure the repatriation of the seriously ill and wounded.

We will remind you that the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation previously recognized the “Azov” regiment as a so-called “terrorist organization”, which allowed the Russian authorities to circumvent the Third Geneva Convention and persecute Ukrainian prisoners of war.