Human Rights Watch (HRW) has released a report accusing Russian forces of carrying out “apparent summary executions” of Ukrainian soldiers, potentially constituting war crimes. The report, published on Thursday, highlights five incidents between December 2023 and February 2024, where at least 15 Ukrainian soldiers were allegedly executed as they attempted to surrender. HRW called for a thorough investigation into these actions.
The international rights group based its findings on a combination of drone footage analysis, social media videos, interviews with Ukrainian soldiers, and media reports. While the exact locations of some incidents could not be confirmed, HRW emphasized that these “apparent executions” were not isolated events.
One incident, captured on drone footage shared on social media, showed seven Ukrainian soldiers emerging from a dugout, removing their body armor, and lying face down as five Russian soldiers aimed and fired at them. In another video recorded on the front lines in the Donetsk region, a Russian commander appeared to order his troops to “take no prisoners, shoot everyone.”
HRW researchers distinguished between Russian and Ukrainian troops by analyzing their identification tapes and military fatigues. The Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office has already launched 27 separate investigations into similar allegations, while the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission reported separate claims of 32 Ukrainian prisoners being executed in 12 incidents between December 2023 and February 2024.
The UN mission also revealed that released Ukrainian soldiers had experienced torture, including beatings, electric shocks, threats of execution, stress positions, mock executions, and sexual violence. Civilians in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory faced arbitrary killings, detention, and restricted freedoms of expression, according to the UN group.
Russia has denied committing war crimes during its conflict with Ukraine and is a signatory to the Geneva Conventions, which prohibit the killing of prisoners of war. It is worth noting that Ukraine has faced allegations in the past regarding the summary killing of Russian troops.
