Russian forces have allegedly executed six Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs), according to Ukrainian activist Serhii Sternenko, who shared a screenshot from the video on January 23.
While refraining from posting the video itself “for obvious reasons,” Sternenko claimed that the execution was recorded on a phone by one of the perpetrators.
"The execution of prisoners is a deliberate state policy of Russia. Not long ago, Putin glorified the 155th Brigade of the Russian Armed Forces and even raised its flag. This is the same brigade notorious for repeatedly killing prisoners and decapitating them," Sternenko wrote on Telegram.
As of now, Ukrainian authorities have not issued an official statement regarding the alleged incident.
This is not the first time such accusations have been made.
On November 11, Sternenko shared a video reportedly showing Russian forces executing two captured Ukrainian soldiers in Russia’s Kursk region.
The footage, provided by Ukrainian forces, was confirmed as a war crime by Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights. Lubinets stated that the act violated both the Geneva Convention and international humanitarian law.
In its October 13 report, the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) noted an increase in the execution of Ukrainian POWs by Russian forces. The report suggested that Russian commanders may be permitting, encouraging, or even directly ordering such acts.
