The Russians killed Ukrainian soldiers who wanted to surrender

– Since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, Russian armed forces have committed many terrible war crimes. Such heinous crimes include the killing without trial or investigation of Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered or were wounded and were shot in cold blood, which international humanitarian law categorically prohibits, said Belkis Wille, deputy director of Human Rights Watch.

The human rights organization analyzed three cases of alleged execution of people without investigation or trial by at least 12 Russian soldiers based on drone footage posted on social media on December 2 and 27 last year and on February 25 this year. In all cases, Ukrainian soldiers showed an obvious intention to surrender.

HRW said it also analyzed a fourth video that appeared on the Internet on February 19. It shows two Russian soldiers killing three defenseless Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered. The owner of the website where the recording was posted provided the location of the incident, but HRW was unable to verify it.

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In the fifth case, analyzed on the basis of interviews with Ukrainian soldiers, a recording posted online on February 16 and media materials, including an interview with a family member of one of the dead, six soldiers were killed, although the circumstances were less obvious.

HRW estimates that similar cases are not isolated. The organization gave the example of another recording from February 5, which does not show Ukrainian soldiers surrendering, but a voice from behind the frame gives orders to Russian soldiers in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine: “Take no prisoners, shoot everyone.”

On April 9, the General Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine announced that 27 criminal cases had been initiated regarding the shooting of 54 Ukrainian prisoners of war.