After being shot down and captured as a prisoner of war in Ukraine on March 6, Russian aviator Lieutenant Colonel Krishtop Maxim Sergeevich spoke during a news conference televised on Friday.
Krishtop began by stating he “asked the military services” to hold a news conference to “stop this violence as quickly as possible.”
Attacking Civilians
The unjustified Russian assault on Ukraine started on February 24 and has been widely criticized by international leaders.
Now, it has resulted in a slew of harsh penalties imposed on the Russian government and its citizens. Refugee flows into European countries have increased, due to Russia’s shelling of Ukrainian cities and villages.
During the first two weeks of the Russian assault on Ukraine, almost 2.5 million people fled the nation, according to CBS News.
After completing his third job, Krishtop recognized it was a bombardment of residential dwellings, he said before being arrested on March 6.
Then, when asked about whether he realized he was hitting civilians, he replied he was “weak” and “accomplished the task.”
Then, he asked Russian soldiers to “stop committing military atrocities against the peaceful Ukrainians.”
Krishtop was questioned about what was said; he declared that he wanted to speak at a news conference and no one to pressure him to do so.
Just a reminder to everyone on here of Art 13 of the Geneva Convention;
"prisoners of war must at all times be protected, particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity."
You should think long and hard before posting POW videos.
— Carl Dinnen (@carldinnen) March 6, 2022
According to Article 13 of the Geneva Convention, captured soldiers must be protected at all times, especially against violent acts or intimidation and against taunts and public curiosity.
Some people say Ukraine is breaking this rule because it doesn’t protect captured soldiers from these things.
The International Committee of the Red Cross’ official commentary states, “any documents that enable individual detainees to be recognized must typically be viewed as arousing public curiosity and may not be communicated, published, or broadcast.”
POW Press Conferences
The POW press conference on Friday isn’t the first.
The Washington Post says a similar broadcast with other POWs was the same, with a mix of words that were either coerced or planned.
The POWs did not have flashcards or materials in front of them at the press session referred to by The Washington Post, but they did on Friday.
Just a reminder to all journalists, bloggers and activists that posting footage/video of Russian prisoners of war is against the Geneva convention. Remember a lot of Russian soldiers are 19 year old kids who don’t want to be here and don’t know why there are.
— Dan Rivers (@danriversitv) March 3, 2022
Krishtop predicted he would “probably respond during the international tribunal at The Hague.”
When asked about the Russian soldiers’ reasons, Krishtop stated he had no ideological motives or animosity towards the Ukrainian people or military. On the military intervention in Ukraine, he feels Putin’s choices are “wrong and criminal.”
“The repercussions of that conflict will live in people’s hearts for generations,” he remarked, expressing regret.
Krishtop claimed he preferred dialogue to “destroying people and maternity hospitals.” The invasion of Kyiv would cause damage, “massive losses of people on both sides,” and “awful repercussions,” he continued.
At the end of the news conference, Krishtop said he and the other POWs were being taken care of by the Ukraine military.
Before the press briefing on Wednesday, the Odesa Ministry of Defense legal department chief told the Post Ukraine “strictly complies with the Geneva Convention.”
