If the advance of the war It is measured in images, the last ones have given Putin an undoubted victory in this war that turns three months on Tuesday. The surrender of the soldiers of the Mariupol steel plant is a disturbing image. In military terms, surrender does not have much value, after all, that group of the Ukrainian army could not attack openly, nor put the siege of the city in excessive danger, since they remained crouched inside. Its main value is in the Russian rear, from Moscow to Vladivostok, where the images have circulated at the speed of light through the oiled channels of official Propaganda, because in the desperation of those who surrender, there is the message that the losers are on the other side.
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The question now faced with the concern of that image is, where will these soldiers go? Faced with the unbearable fear of torture, we must remember that wars also have laws and the combatants who have surrendered are no longer soldiers, they are prisoners of war. They have surrendered their weapons and therefore any retaliatory action becomes a war crime. Putin right now has a booty. More than a thousand defenders of Azovstal plant they have given up
While the war lasts they can be exchanged, but they must be treated with respect and dignity. In war, until the moment of capturing them, the use of violence is legitimate, but as soon as they surrender, it is no longer. If they use them or mistreat them, the crime is the same as if they were a civilian. Putin knows this, but since we know that he likes to play with fire, it would be worth warning from the foreign ministries that the prisoners are no longer soldiers. War crimes are difficult to prove and impunity after conflict is based on that, in the case of prisoners of war it is easier. Counted and named, each one of those lives that is not exchanged or returned to its country when hostilities end, counts as a crime.