Kyiv opens war crime probe after reports Russian forces executed three Ukrainian POWs

Ukrainian Telegram channels, some of which are moderated by the military of the Defense Forces, shared a video with the alleged execution of surrendering fighters of the 117th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine by the Russian troops. The Prosecutor General's Office announced the start of the investigation.

Stanislav Bunyatov, a soldier of the 24th Separate Assault Brigade "Aidar", published the first video on the Telegram channel "Hovoryat Snayper".

"The video of the shooting of captured soldiers of the 117th SMBr, let every politician in the West see this video and understand why we have no right to negotiate with the fascists," he captioned the video.

After that, the video material was distributed on social media, in particular, by channels with million-strong audiences.

The published video shows how the Russian troops put three Ukrainian soldiers on their knees and shot them from a distance of several meters.

The execution of the prisoners is watched by a person in uniform who stands behind the prisoners, probably a Russian soldier who commands the execution.

According to the Office of the Prosecutor General, the episode took place on the southern axis near Robotyne.

The Russians executed the Ukrainian soldiers an hour after they were captured.

A pre-trial investigation is underway into the facts of war crimes committed by Russian servicemen, the PGO stated.

Video 18+ – here.

On March 6, 2023, the Russian troops killed an unarmed Ukrainian prisoner of war who said "Glory to Ukraine!". The corresponding video appeared on social media.

On April 11, 2023, a video appeared online, in which men with signs of belonging to the Russian forces cut off the head of a living person in a uniform with Ukrainian insignia, and then show the camera a body armor with the image of the Ukrainian coat of arms on a chevron.