"The recording is going," says a voice in Russian in the background of the video. A masked man in a Russian uniform points his weapon at a young Ukrainian soldier. He is lying on the ground with his thigh bandaged. “Do you have any last words?“ asks the masked man, “do you want to pray before you die?“.
The young Ukrainian just looks and is silent. The masked soldier then fired several rounds at the unarmed Ukrainian. Sagittarius looks completely calm. The body of the Ukrainian soldier shuddered and then remained motionless on the ground.
Ukrainian drones gather evidence
Since the beginning of the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, photos and videos have repeatedly surfaced, allegedly showing the execution of Ukrainian soldiers by Russian aggressors. They may be from Russian sources or footage taken by Ukrainian drones, says Petro Yatsenko, quoted by German public media ARD. He is the spokesman for a coordination headquarters in Kiev responsible for Ukrainian prisoners of war as well as civilians detained by the Russians.
According to Yatsenko, the killings filmed by Ukrainian drones show unarmed Ukrainian soldiers just emerging from cover or a trench to surrender. They are usually executed immediately, in the field or in the forest - before they are ever captured, he says.
More and more executions
The video, which allegedly shows the execution of the Ukrainian soldier, is from the closed Russian channels of the social network Telegram, which Ukrainians constantly monitor. Between December 2023 and February 2024 alone, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine recorded the killing of 32 soldiers in 12 different locations. The number of these executions is increasing, says Yatsenko. According to him, this means that it is an official Russian state policy, and not murders committed on the initiative of ordinary Russian soldiers.
Executions should also instill fear in Russia itself
By killing unarmed Ukrainians, Russia wants to spread fear in Ukraine. But these executions are also a warning to Russian soldiers not to surrender. In this way, it is suggested to them that the same fate would await them, Yatsenko continues. The perpetrators of the executions were mostly ordinary Russian soldiers and commanders. Thanks to military intelligence, important information about them also becomes known - for example, which are their units or their military names. Ukrainians also use drones to collect such information, adds ARD.
„We see them and hear them talking. There are intercepted calls, photos and videos. And if these people survive, after the war they will be found and brought to justice, says Yatsenko.
Pierced by a sword
Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Ukrainian Parliament, Dmytro Lubinets, commented on the alleged execution of another Ukrainian soldier. A photo, which prosecutors have classified as credible, shows a dead young man in a blood-stained Ukrainian uniform, apparently near Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region. A large sword with the inscription in Russian “For Kursk”.
protrudes from his corpse
Author: Andrea Beer ARD