The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said this in a statement on the day of remembrance for defenders and defendresses of Ukraine, members of volunteer formations and civilians who were executed, tortured or died in captivity, Ukrinform reports.

"The Ukrainian Armed Forces honor Ukrainian service members, members of volunteer formations and civilians who were executed, tortured or died in captivity as a result of the Russian Federation's armed aggression against Ukraine, in the struggle for Ukraine's independence, state sovereignty and territorial integrity, and who became victims of brutal violence during the Russian occupation. Preserving the memory of their heroism, civic courage, resilience, selflessness and strength of spirit is our daily and eternal duty," the General Staff said.

It stressed that July 28 is etched in the memory and hearts of all Ukrainians in honor of military personnel who defended the city of Mariupol and, on the orders of Ukraine's senior military leadership, left the Azovstal steel plant between May 16 and 20, 2022. Despite agreements and guarantees to preserve their lives and health, they were executed by Russian occupying forces during a terrorist attack at the site of the former Volnovakha Penal Colony No. 120 in the village of Olenivka, Donetsk region, on the night of July 28-29, 2022.

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Systematic crimes against Ukrainian prisoners of war have become part of the aggressor state's military practice, the General Staff said.

"Electric shocks, executions, sexual violence, starvation, denial of medical assistance and contact with relatives, the use of people as human shields and tools of propaganda – these are not isolated excesses, but a deliberate and controlled policy. Through such actions, the Russian Federation grossly violates the Geneva Conventions, the UN Convention against Torture, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the very foundations of humanity. These are war crimes and crimes against humanity that have no statute of limitations, and Ukraine is obliged to tell the world about them until every perpetrator is brought to justice," the statement said.

The General Staff stressed that the methods used by Russia today are a direct legacy of Moscow's despotism, which has always built its rule on fear and the destruction of those who resist.

"The oprichnina of Ivan the Terrible, punitive expeditions by the Russian Empire against Ukrainian Cossacks, Solovki, Sandarmokh and Bykivnia during the Soviet era, the systematic extermination of civilians during the Holodomor and deportations – all these are links in the same chain. Torture, extrajudicial executions and abuse of the defenseless have always been presented by Moscow as a normal form of state governance. The continuity of these methods is a documented historical fact that Ukraine bears witness to with its own blood," the General Staff said.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces expressed their deep gratitude to civil society, volunteers, human rights defenders, Ukrainian and international journalists, and everyone who refuses to let the world forget the fate of Ukrainian prisoners of war, searches for the missing, supports their families and maintains contact with those who are waiting.

"We believe in the return of every one of our soldiers. And in the strength of every family that is waiting. Eternal honor to the Heroes who gave their lives for an independent, united and democratic Ukraine. We remember. And we will not forgive," the General Staff said.

As reported, more than 50 Ukrainian defenders were killed and 130 wounded in the 2022 terrorist attack at Volnovakha Penal Colony No. 120 near Olenivka.