All foreign nationals and stateless persons taking part in combat operations on the territory of Ukraine as part of the AFU have volunteered for military service under contract in accordance with the law of Ukraine "On Military Duty and Military Service" of 1992, the AFU General Staff said in a statement.
"The persons concerned are members of the AFU, which, according to the provisions of the Geneva Conventions for the protection of victims of war of 1949 and the Additional Protocols thereto of 1977, are subject to the legal status of combatants. This status, among other things, entitles such persons to be treated as prisoners of war if they fall into enemy hands," reads a statement released on Facebook on Wednesday.
The department recalls that the 1949 Geneva Conventions prohibit any unlawful acts, including violence, intimidation or inaction against prisoners of war, and obligates humane treatment of prisoners of war.
"Non-compliance with the relevant norms of international humanitarian law is a serious violation of the Convention," the General Staff concluded.
