A group of Russian soldiers executed three unarmed Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) in the village of New York, Donetsk region.
The execution was captured by a drone, and the video was released by the 12th Special Purpose Brigade “Azov” of the National Guard of Ukraine. Kyiv Post has not independently verified the date and location of the video, and Azov has not specified when the executions took place.
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The footage shows the Russians shooting the three unarmed Ukrainian soldiers at close range. Warning: graphic content!
Later, fighters from the 12th “Azov” Brigade, along with the 49th Separate Assault Battalion, captured one of the Russian soldiers involved in the execution. Azov also released footage of the prisoner’s interrogation.
According to the captured Russian, after he and his comrades executed the Ukrainian soldiers, they continued their advance. However, they later came under heavy mortar fire and an attack by FPV drones.
“Our group [of six people] was wiped out; I was the only one left,” said the Russian soldier, adding that he saw no choice but to surrender.
He revealed that before the incident, he had heard orders over the walkie-talkie instructing soldiers to kill captured POWs: “They said on the radio: ‘They took three? Zero them.’”
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The prisoner added that Russian forces also execute their soldiers who refuse to fight. “If a group doesn’t want to move forward, they issue a ‘red card.’ Another group follows and kills them if they don’t advance,” he said.
The Russian POW, who had a bruised eye, claimed his injury came from his company commander, who hit him for refusing to go into battle. “I refused so many times. I was already wounded. I should have had surgery,” he said.
He further questioned the purpose of the war: “Who are we liberating here? No one wants to be liberated. The war makes no sense. I don’t understand why our government started it. Was it about land? Money?”
The prisoner also spoke about the harsh conditions within the Russian army, describing problems with evacuating the wounded and retrieving the bodies of dead soldiers.
He mentioned a soldier who waited a week for evacuation, dying from sepsis due to a broken leg.
“Another guy in our platoon shot himself in the leg, cut into the flesh, and dressed the wound just to avoid dying from sepsis,” he added. “There’s no medicine, no supplies – no one brings anything or takes anyone out of there.”
The captured Russian emphasized that surrendering is frightening: “But it’s better to surrender and save your life.”
The captive also told Azov fighters that he never wanted to serve in the army, as he had a good family and a stable job. However, after receiving a summons, the military enlistment office warned him that refusing to fight would result in imprisonment.
Before this, reports surfaced of 16 Ukrainian POWs who were executed by Russian forces in the Pokrovsk district of eastern Ukraine while trying to surrender.
A video released on Telegram on Oct. 1 showed the Ukrainian soldiers emerging from a trench and being lined up. Russian troops then opened fire with automatic weapons, killing them. Those still alive were finished off at close range.
Ukraine’s Prosecutor General described the incident as the largest recorded execution of Ukrainian POWs on the front lines, calling it a reflection of a deliberate Russian policy of killing and torturing prisoners. The exact date of the incident is still under investigation.
These actions violate the Geneva Conventions and are classified as serious international crimes.
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