A group of Russian soldiers allegedly shot Ukrainians who wanted to surrender. A drone video shows the alleged war crime. Now the Russians themselves have been killed in fighting, the Ukrainian armed forces report.
“I can confirm that in the event of further military actions, the group of Russian occupiers that committed this crime will cease to exist,” Alexander Shtupun, spokesman for the forces in the Tauria sector, said on Ukrainian television.
Drone video shows incident
The government in Kiev accused the soldiers who are now believed to have been killed of shooting Ukrainian fighters who wanted to surrender near the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka. A drone video circulating on social media since the weekend allegedly shows the crime (see above).
It shows two unarmed Ukrainian soldiers emerging from a bomb shelter as Russian soldiers aim their guns at them. The Ukrainians lie on the ground and shots are fired. One tries to get up and falls to the ground again. Smoke rises and the video stops abruptly. The recordings have not yet been independently verified, but appear to be authentic.
Violation of the Geneva Convention
The leadership in Kiev therefore accuses the Russian army of a war crime. It is emphasized that the surrendering soldiers should have been given the status of prisoners of war. According to the Geneva Convention, it is strictly forbidden to kill prisoners of war. Ukrainian prosecutors are investigating the incident, which is said to have taken place near the hotly contested Avdiivka in the Pokrovsk district of Donetsk Oblast.
Many Russian violations documented
The Russian Defense Ministry has not yet responded to the video. Russia has always denied committing war crimes in the past. However, the office of UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Türk has already documented numerous violations of international law by Ukrainian prisoners of war.
These include “numerous summary executions and targeted attacks on civilians” by Russian soldiers and allied armed groups such as the Wagner mercenaries. In addition, more than 600 cases of enforced disappearances and arbitrary arrests have been documented, according to Türk.
Source: Krone
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