The State Department slammed Moscow’s “so-called tribunals” in the Russian-controlled city of Mariupol.
“The Kremlin is attempting to deflect responsibility for President Putin’s war of aggression and distract from the overwhelming evidence of the atrocities Russian forces have committed in Ukraine,” State Department spokesman Ned Price wrote in a statement.
Price called the trials a “mockery of justice” and called on Moscow to comply with international law.
“All members of Ukraine’s armed forces, including domestic and foreign volunteers incorporated into the armed forces, are entitled to prisoner of war status if they are captured and must be afforded the treatment and protections commensurate with that status, according to the Geneva Conventions,” Price added.
