Posted on 05/02/2024 10:05:48 AM PDT by MeganC
(Kyiv, May 2, 2024) – Russian forces appear to have executed at least 15 Ukrainian soldiers as they attempted to surrender, and possibly six more who were surrendering or who had surrendered, since early December 2023, Human Rights Watch said today. These incidents should be investigated as war crimes.
“Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, its forces have committed many heinous war crimes,” said Belkis Wille, associate crisis and conflict director at Human Rights Watch. “The summary execution – or murder – of surrendering and injured Ukrainian soldiers, gunned down in cold blood, expressly forbidden under international humanitarian law, is also included in that shameful legacy.”
Human Rights Watch investigated three instances of the apparent summary execution of at least 12 Ukrainian soldiers by verifying and analyzing drone footage posted on social media on December 2 and December 27, and on February 25, 2024. In these cases, the soldiers demonstrated a clear intent to surrender and, since they were no longer taking part in hostilities, were considered hors de combat and not targetable under international humanitarian law, or the laws of war.
Human Rights Watch verified the location of two of the three incidents based on the footage, but due to the lack of geographic details in the videos, was unable to determine the exact location of the third. Human Rights Watch was unable to verify which party operated the drone that captured the footage in these cases.
Human Rights Watch investigated a fourth instance by analyzing another video clip posted on social media on February 19 showing two Russian soldiers executing three surrendering and unarmed Ukrainian soldiers. Although the account that posted the clip stated the location of the incident, Human Rights Watch has not been able to verify the location independently.
For the fifth incident, the investigation relied on an interview with a Ukrainian soldier, a video posted to a Telegram channel on February 16, and in-depth media coverage including interviews with family members of one of the victims. The information suggests that six soldiers were executed in the incident, though the circumstances were less clear.
In one of the five incidents, on February 25, verified drone footage shared widely online including on X (formerly known as Twitter) shows at least seven Ukrainian soldiers exiting a dugout among some trees between two fields, removing their body armor, at least one soldier removing their helmet, and all lying face down as five Russian soldiers aim their guns at them. The Russian soldiers are identifiable by distinctive red tape markings around the arms and legs. Three Russian soldiers then shoot toward the clearly surrendered Ukrainian soldiers from behind and both sides.
Six of the Ukrainian soldiers remain face down, visibly reacting to the impact of the shots, while one attempts to reenter the dugout but is shot before he is able to. The incident took place near Ivanivske village in the Donetska region. The location was first verified by EjShahid, a volunteer for GeoConfirmed, and subsequently confirmed by Human Rights Watch researchers.
(More at the link)
No kidding, Russians kill everyone, even their own troops.
Instead of going full neocon zeep
please stop promulgating the StateDept/CIA/deepState (sorry but true) War party of you youth. feel free to join the tewnty-first century
No learning makes one, ahem, a fool.
‘We’re gonna need all the help we can get..’ (against RedChina and Russia)
Well, that’s for dam sure, but not by following idiotic policies from idiot thinking.
I never said media. I’m referring to people. Individuals. The same measure of disgust should be felt equally against the horrors of war. And yes individuals did delight in the poisoning - thinking it was clever. You certainly wouldn’t be saying the same thing if the parties were reversed. Next.. you seem to be into this collective mindset. Not everyone thinks or feels about Ukraine the way you do.
And now the name calling.
“”””But, the media celebrated Ukrainian women honey potted Russian soldiers who then poisoned them on dates.”””””
We and the rest of our 31 NATO alliance and another 20 or so of our allies and friends globally and in the Pacific support Ukraine against the Russian invasion.
We have a side in this war and yes, it does make a difference if the bad guys are being killed while invading a friendly nation or if the good guys are being killed.
sorry, not, if the shoe fits
Taking prisoners is counterproductive. They have to be sheltered, fed and guarded.
It takes resources but in the long run it is not counterproductive.
So, given Russia’s long and indisputable evil history, any idea WHY we have so many Putin lovers on FR?
I have one thought. My daughter is beautiful, a CPA, a mother and controller of a 40 m company.
But, I bet she couldn’t tell you who Stalin was. Even though I sent her to the best private schools in our area, she was either sleeping in history class or there was no history class.
“…it does make a difference if the bad guys are being killed while invading a friendly nation or if the good guys are being killed.”
There is no “good guy” in this fight. So I only root for the invaded underdog.
I’m not concerned with how Biden and Milley, the UK, Boris Johnson etc ( when he was in office ) feel about Ukraine and Russia.
If they give/gave a crap, they would have worked on a peace plan and stopped provoking with threats of NATO membership. Sorry.. we provoked Russia into the war. And again… please stop hiding behind what other people, countries, govt, media think. You can say how YOU feel. I care less what other’s think. We were wrong and the consequences are catastrophic.
And I may not respond because it’s fruitless. It makes zero difference what I think or say. You are one of the masses and count yourself as validated because the media, Biden, Congress wave their yellow and blue flags in unison. I’m not part of that clique nor do I ever want to be.
LOL, no one cares about their feelings, but we do care about how able they are in a fight.
We are in a much better situation than we were 25 months ago, NATO is stronger and getting stronger and has woken up from the stagnation we were worried about 2 years ago, and that applies to the Pacific as well.
Every year our allies have made vast improvements over where they were at the beginning of this invasion.
Don’t forget the celebrating media you never mentioned.
Why were the Ukies surrending? I thought Ukieland was winning.
Why not fight to the death?
Getting in the middle of a Slavic slapfight domestic dispute is never a good time.
You’d think that The Great War would have been a good lesson on it.
God how it was nauseating to hear all that clap trap two years ago about “Standing With Ukraine’’
Now it's all over and gone.
People who two years ago couldn't have found Ukraine on a map as big as a barn door were all agog at this supposed little brave nation fighting for ‘’democracy’’.
What twaddle.
I know.
I still remember the Obama misadministration meddling everywhere that they could.
2014 was a poster year for such things.
And the supposed democracy closed churches, promoted lgbtqwerty, and suspended elections which our media points to as a “masterclass in democracy”.
Which gives a hint of what they plan here.
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