A disturbing video appears to show Russian soldiers executing two Ukrainian troops who had their hands on their heads to surrender, which Kyiv called “glaring” proof of ongoing war crimes.
The footage, which appears to have been recorded by a drone near the under-siege town of Avdiivka, opens with the first Ukrainian soldier walking out at gunpoint with his hands up and lying face down on the ground.
A few moments later, his comrade steps out of the foxhole to surrender — and appears to get shot by the Russians from a close range.
The first Ukrainian serviceman then briefly races back on his feet before collapsing.
The area around them is then covered in smoke from an apparent barrage of gunfire.
It was not immediately known when the incident was filmed — but the Strategic Committee of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed its authenticity on its Telegram page.
“The Russian Federation…violated the rules and customs of war, the norms of international law,” it wrote.
“The footage published in the media shows the execution of two prisoners of war from the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to verified information, the Russian occupiers have once again treacherously fired upon unarmed soldiers.”
Oleksandr Shtupun, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military’s Tavria grouping of troops fighting near Avdiivka, told the Kyiv Independent that the Russian troops who allegedly participated in the execution were later killed in action.
“According to the report on the ground, that group of the enemy [no longer] exists,” Shtupun said.
Shtupun added that the video was “glaring confirmation” of Moscow’s disrespect for the laws of war.
The Ukrainian General Prosecutor’s office on Sunday launched a criminal investigation into the troops’ killing.
“The video shows a group in Russian uniforms shooting, at point-blank range, two unarmed servicemen in the uniform of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who were surrendering,” the prosecutor’s office said in a Telegram update.
Killing of prisoners of war violates the Geneva Conventions and constitutes a war crime.
The recording first emerged Saturday on DeepState, a popular Ukrainian Telegram channel covering the war.
The post claimed the video came from the front lines near Avdiivka and involved soldiers who served in Ukraine’s 45th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade.
The General Prosecutor’s Office on Sunday said that the alleged killings took place near the village of Stepove in the Pokrovsk district, which includes Avdiivka and surrounding areas in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region.
“It’s clear from the video that the Ukrainian servicemen are taking the necessary steps that show they are surrendering,” said Ukraine’s human rights chief, Dmytro Lubinets, who described the incident as “yet another glaring example of Russia’s violations of international humanitarian law.”
This is not the first time that Kyiv has accused Moscow of violating international law and customs of war.
In March, distressing footage of a man smoking a cigarette and exclaiming “Glory to Ukraine” before being gunned down in a wooded area triggered national outcry in Ukraine, as senior officials claimed that the victim, later identified as Oleksandr Matsievskiy, was an unarmed prisoner of war.
