Russian Troops Cut Off Ukrainian Serviceman’s Head

The Russian military beheaded a Ukrainian serviceman in the Donbas region, Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said on Tuesday, June 18 in a social media post.

“This is a terrible barbarism that has no place in the 21st century,” Kostin said. “And this is yet another proof that the war crimes committed by the aggressor are not isolated incidents, but a planned strategy of the Russian regime.”

“These criminal orders were given at the level of the battalion and company leadership of the occupation forces,” Kostin added.

The Ukrainian soldier who was killed has been identified, but at this point could not be named, Kostin said.

The Russian commanders potentially responsible for ordering the beheading of the Ukrainian defender have been identified. A set of measures is being taken to verify this information.

This is far from the first case of execution of Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel.

For example, in April, Russian troops shot unarmed Ukrainian prisoners of war in Krynky, in the Kherson region.

Video “shows a representative of the Russian Armed Forces firing several shots, probably from an assault rifle, at unarmed soldiers standing still.”

In places that the Russians have occupied, the Ukrainian army has consistently found evidence of war crimes both against military personnel and civilians – including abductions, murder, torture, rape and mutilation of men, women and children.

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Russia Imposes Forced Enlistment in Occupied Ukraine Contrary to International Law

While Ukrainians protest against forced mobilization, Russia has begun to force young people from the occupied territories into its armed forces - another violation of the Geneva Convention.

Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubynets appealed to the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross over the incident, calling on the international community to hold Russia accountable for war crimes committed against Ukraine and Ukrainians.

This month, another video went viral on social media. In it, Russian soldiers allegedly document their own abuses of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs).

In the footage released, Russian soldiers are seen leading four blindfolded Ukrainians, beating them, threatening them, carrying out a mock execution, and attempting to humiliate them.