Human Rights Watch is investigating “apparent summary executions” and says the acts could amount to war crimes.
Russian forces have apparently executed Ukrainian soldiers since December 2023 when they wanted to surrender or had already surrendered, according to a new report from an international human rights group.
The acts should be investigated as war crimes, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in the report published on Thursday.
The group investigated five incidents of what it called “apparent summary executions” of at least 15 Ukrainian soldiers who attempted to surrender and possibly six others who surrendered or had surrendered between December 2023 and February 2024.
“Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, its forces have committed many heinous war crimes,” said Belkis Wille, a senior researcher at HRW.
“The summary execution – or murder – of surrendering and injured Ukrainian soldiers, shot in cold blood and expressly prohibited under international humanitarian law, is also part of this shameful legacy.”
Since early December, footage has shown Russian forces gunning down at least 15 and possibly six more Ukrainian soldiers attempting to surrender on the battlefield. A Russian drone footage captures a voice giving the order: “Take no prisoners, shoot everyone.” https://t.co/HR6FnDTTmp pic.twitter.com/GNf6jM5OSv
— Belki’s Will (@belkiswille) May 2, 2024
The human rights monitor said it relied on analysis of drone footage and videos on social media, interviews with Ukrainian soldiers and media reports, but added that it could not confirm the locations of some incidents.
It noted that the “apparent executions do not appear to be isolated incidents.”
It cited an incident on February 25th in which drone footage was recorded.
In other footage taken at the front in the Donetsk region, a Russian commander appeared to have told his troops: “Take no prisoners, shoot everyone,” the report said.
Researchers differentiated between Russian and Ukrainian troops by observing the use of each side’s identification bands – blue for Ukraine and white or red for Russia – as well as the different colors of their military clothing.
In December, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office accused Russia of war crimes after a grainy video circulated on social media showing several soldiers shooting two surrendering military personnel at gunpoint as they emerged from a shelter.
According to HRW, Ukrainian authorities are conducting about 27 separate investigations into similar allegations.
The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine separately reported in March allegations that at least 32 Ukrainian prisoners were executed in 12 separate incidents between December 2023 and February 2024.
Findings from 60 released Ukrainian soldiers, the mission added, showed they were tortured through repeated beatings, electric shocks, threats of execution, prolonged stress positions, mock executions and sexual violence.
Civilians in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory have also fallen victim to arbitrary killings, detentions and restricted freedom of expression, the UN group said.
Russia denies committing war crimes during its war in Ukraine. It is a party to the Geneva Conventions, which prohibit the killing of prisoners of war.
In the past, Ukraine has also been accused of unceremoniously killing Russian troops by its soldiers.