The 110th separate mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), named after Colonel-General Marko Bezruchko, which defended Avdiivka, declared that Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) had been shot after surrendering at the Zenit position.
According to the brigade's statement released via Facebook, the Russians promised to evacuate the wounded Ukrainian soldiers who remained surrounded in the Zenit stronghold but violated the agreement and executed the POWs.
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The departure of the personnel of the 110th brigade from Avdiivka occurred amid continuous bombardment by Russian aircraft and artillery fire, constant attacks by FPV drones, attacks on evacuation vehicles, and shelling of evacuation routes.
“It was not possible to evacuate several seriously wounded and dead servicemen. The enemy launched a swift, large-scale offensive, leaving no chance for repeated attempts,” the military stated.
Russian forces completely surrounded the Zenit stronghold. On Feb. 16, Oleksandr Tarnavsky, the commander of the operational-strategic grouping of the Tavria troops, reported that the fighters were withdrawing from the Zenit position in Avdiivka.
Following this, the brigade contacted the coordination center and organizations negotiating with the Russian side regarding the exchange of prisoners to assist Ukrainian seriously wounded, unarmed military personnel.
“The enemy informed the coordinators of this process that they agreed to evacuate our wounded and provide them with assistance, and in the future, exchange them,” the brigade reported.
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“Our servicemen were ordered to save their lives. We learned about what happened later from enemy resources,” the military added.
The brigade stated that a video released via Russian Telegram channels on Feb. 18 showed six fighters in uniforms of the AFU being executed
The Ukrainian media outlet Slidstvo.Info reported that relatives of several soldiers recognized them from the released video and identified three Ukrainian fighters: Georgy Pavlov, Andriy Dubnytsky, and Ivan Zhytnyk.
“According to our data, the enemy also shot Oleksandr Zinchuk and Mykola Savosik,” the brigade said in its statement.
Details of the sixth soldier have yet to be confirmed; most likely, he was from the dowry unit, the brigade added.
Following this, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General opened an investigation.
This case adds to a series of previous incidents captured on video in which Russian troops are seen shooting Ukrainian soldiers who have surrendered.
At the end of last year, reports emerged of Russian soldiers shooting Ukrainian POWs near the village of Robotyne in the Zaporizhzhia region. On Dec. 27, a video surfaced on Ukrainian social media allegedly showing Russian military personnel shooting captured Ukrainian soldiers.
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