Ukraine investigates new alleged murders of POWs by Russian troops

(Reuters) - Ukrainian prosecutors said on Friday they had launched an investigation into the alleged Russian shooting of three surrendering Ukrainian servicemen on the eastern front near Pokrovsk, the main focus of Russia's assault.

Describing the latest in scores of such incidents Ukraine has reported, the Prosecutor General's office said on Telegram that it took place after Russian troops attacked a trench used by the Ukrainian military for cover on Aug. 27.

"The soldiers came out of the damaged shelter and knelt down, holding their hands behind their heads. At this time, Russians opened fire," the statement said.

CNN obtained Ukrainian drone footage showing the supposed execution. Three kneeled men could be seen on the video, falling on the ground within seconds after the apparent shooting.

Reuters could not independently verify the video clip. There was no immediate comment from Russia.

Andriy Kostin, the prosecutor general, said on X that Kyiv was investigating alleged executions of 73 Ukrainian prisoners carried out by Russian troops.

He said an increasing number of such cases had been documented.

"This war crime is part of Russia's ongoing gross violations of international humanitarian law. Russian barbarism is a disgrace to humanity," Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Heorhiy Tykhyi said on X.

The Kremlin denies that Russia commits war crimes in Ukraine; Kyiv says it has documented nearly 130,000 war crimes committed by Moscow since its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa; editing by Philippa Fletcher)