‘They posed no threat’

Video appears to show Russian soldiers shooting surrendering Ukrainian soldiers at close range

Footage released by the Ukrainian OSINT project DeepState appears to show the execution of unarmed Ukrainian soldiers in Donetsk’s Pokrovskyi district in eastern Ukraine. The video, published on December 2, was reportedly taken by a drone north of Avdiivka, where the Russian army is advancing.

At least six soldiers, allegedly Russian, can be seen standing with machine guns near a shelter from which two Ukrainian soldiers emerge, one with his hands behind his head. Once the second soldier has lain down on the ground, the soldiers in Russian uniforms open fire on them.

Following the video’s release, the Donetsk Prosecutor’s Office initiated an investigation into “violations of the laws and customs of war, including intentional murder (under Article 438, part 2 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code). “The video captures a group of individuals in Russian uniforms shooting at point-blank two unarmed servicemen in Ukrainian Armed Forces uniforms who were surrendering,” the Ukrainian Prosecutor’s Office wrote.

Oleksandr Shtupun, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Tavria military command, told Ukrainska Pravda that the video was being verified. “Such crimes have no statute of limitations, all evidence will be handed over to the relevant international institutions dealing with war crimes,” he said.

The Ukrainian military's Strategic Communications Center stated that “according to confirmed information," Russian soldiers “shot unarmed soldiers.”

Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets said he would appeal to the International Committee of the Red Cross and the U.N. In his opinion, “everyone can clearly see in the video that the Ukrainian soldiers are doing everything necessary to show that they are unarmed, that they are surrendering and pose no threat to the Russian military.” Therefore, Lubinets added, “they should have been automatically taken prisoner and granted POW status.”

The Russian Defense Ministry has not yet commented on the video.