Vladimir Putin's Russian forces are accused of a new war crime after a video emerged of an executioner calling on his comrades to film as at least six Ukrainian prisoners of war are shot dead in cold blood.
Kiev has launched a criminal investigation and reported the barbaric massacre to the United Nations and the Red Cross.
The fierce Russian soldiers in the occupied Donetsk region are filming themselves committing the illegal massacre on the battlefield.
“This is mine,” says one of the Russian soldiers after demanding, “Give me two machine guns.”
You see the prisoners of war lying face down on the ground while the occupiers decide to kill them.
“Grab the camera,” you hear a Russian say. 'Pick up the phone, pick up the phone, pick up the phone, pick up the phone, film me.'
The prisoners are told to come here, one at a time, and hurry. One by one. Here, on your knees.'
They are ordered: 'Go, go, we will kill you anyway.'
At least two Russians can be seen shooting the kneeling victims from behind. Others were shot as they walked to the murder scene.
The fierce Russian soldiers in the occupied Donetsk region are filming themselves committing battlefield atrocities
We see Ukrainian soldiers cowering just before they are shot dead
Some were forced to kneel or lie down, others were shot as they walked to the execution scene
Ukrainian Human Rights Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said: “In the video, the occupiers themselves recorded their own crime: shooting in the backs of six Ukrainian soldiers who had been captured.
The video ends when the seventh soldier lies on the ground, his fate unknown.
'The shooting of each of the captured soldiers takes place in the presence of other comrades.
'At the same time, the occupiers order them to 'lie down and shut up'.
“The crime 'operator' says, 'One is mine,' and we later see him fire a series of bullets into the back of one of the POWs.”
Lubinets emphasized: “The Russian army has never been known for its dignified treatment of prisoners of war, and here it once again shows its helplessness and criminality.”
He has sent details to the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
“The lack of accountability has turned the crime into a systemic crime.
'We cannot close our eyes to this.
“Ukraine needs justice and accountability for those who commit crimes and do not adhere to any standards.”
The Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office said: 'During the attack on the positions of Ukrainian troops in the Donetsk region, the occupiers captured and then shot six servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“The shooting of prisoners of war is a serious violation of the Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War and is classified as a serious international crime.”
It comes as Western officials said around 1,000 North Korean “elite” troops, allegedly led by Russian officers who “don't understand” them, were slaughtered in just three months in the battle against Ukraine.
A Russian soldier is seen bluntly telling the Ukrainian prisoners that he is going to kill them
Western officials say around a thousand “elite” North Korean troops were slaughtered in just three months, allegedly led by Russian officers who “don't understand” them.
North Korean troops in eastern Russia undergo training ahead of their deployment to Vladimir Putin's forces
Vladimir Putin talks to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un about Putin's arrival at Pyongyang International Airport in Pyongyang, North Korea, in June 2024
North Korea has sent about 11,000 troops and 4,000 have been killed, wounded, missing or captured.
Officials speaking anonymously said an estimated 1,000 of them had been killed by mid-January.
The North Korean troops, reportedly from an “elite” unit called the Storm Corps, appear to have been thrown into the war with little training or protection.
Former British Army tank commander Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon said they were “barely trained” and led by “Russian officers who don't understand them.”
He said the troops “don't stand a chance and are being used as 'cannon fodder.'
These losses are unsustainable for the North Koreans and indicate very high costs for Vladimir Putin's ally.
He is trying to get Ukrainian troops out of Russia ahead of possible ceasefire negotiations later this year.
