A recent report from an international rights group has revealed that Russian forces have been carrying out executions of Ukrainian soldiers who were attempting to surrender or had already surrendered since December 2023.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called for an investigation into these actions, labeling them as potential war crimes in a report released on Thursday.
The group investigated five incidents where at least 15 Ukrainian soldiers were reportedly summarily executed as they tried to surrender, with a possibility of six more soldiers being killed while surrendering or after surrendering between December 2023 and February 2024.
Belkis Wille, a senior researcher at HRW, condemned the actions, stating that such acts are in violation of international humanitarian law and contribute to a legacy of heinous war crimes committed by Russian forces during the invasion of Ukraine.
Footage from early December shows Russian forces shooting down Ukrainian soldiers attempting to surrender, with orders heard on drone recordings instructing to “take no prisoners, shoot everyone.” https://t.co/HR6FnDTTmp pic.twitter.com/GNf6jM5OSv
— Belkis Wille (@belkiswille) May 2, 2024
The report by HRW relied on drone footage analysis, social media videos, interviews with Ukrainian soldiers, and media reports to gather information, although some incident locations could not be confirmed.
It highlighted that these executions were not isolated cases, pointing to one specific incident on February 25 where drone footage showed Russian soldiers shooting at unarmed Ukrainian soldiers who had surrendered.
In another video from the Donetsk region, a Russian commander was seen giving orders to his troops…
Post from www.aljazeera.com