GRAPHIC: Russian Troops Execute 3 Ukrainian POWs in Kherson Region

Russian troops shot unarmed Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) in Krynky, Kherson Region, the Prosecutor General’s Office reported via Telegram.

The video released on a Telegram channel “shows how a representative of the Russian Armed Forces fires several shots, probably from an assault rifle, at unarmed stationary soldiers,” the Prosecutor General’s Office reported.

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Kyiv Post could not independently verify the authenticity of the video recording, including the exact time and place it was captured.

Ukraine has initiated a pre-trial investigation into the violation of the laws and customs of war. The investigation is being conducted by the Main Department of the National Police in the Kherson region.

The Prosecutor General’s Office denounced the actions of the Russian representatives, stating that they blatantly disregarded the provisions of the Geneva Convention on the treatment of prisoners of war. According to the Office, this indicates support for such actions by the highest command of the Russian Armed Forces.

Natalia Humeniuk, spokesperson for Ukraine’s Operational Command South (OC South), stated on national TV that details of the incident are still being established.

She highlighted the difficulty of identifying individuals based on the video and mentioned ongoing efforts with law enforcement agencies to clarify the situation.

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With Russia’s full-scale invasion approaching the 1,000-day mark, 3.7 million people have already been displaced inside Ukraine and around 6.7 million have fled as refugees, according to UN figures.

Humeniuk mentioned that similar cases of unarmed Ukrainian POWs being shot by Russian servicemen have occurred before, documented across various areas of the front. These incidents form the basis for further criminal proceedings.

“The fact that the enemy is trying to put pressure by publishing similar videos, tying it to the bridgehead in Krynky, indicates that they still have no success there,” she said.

Humeniuk added that the Russian troops are regularly looking for new tactics to knock out the Ukrainian military from the bridgehead on the southern bank of the Dnipro River, but all of them are unsuccessful.

The Russian commander behind the shooting

Investigators of evocation.info reported that the execution was carried out by servicemen of the 328th regiment of the 104th division on the orders of Russian commander Sergei Ishtuganov. The shooting was allegedly intended to intimidate Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) soldiers.

As part of the 31st Assault Brigade, Ishtuganov participated in the initial stages of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This unit gained notoriety for its significant losses during the Hostomel landing and subsequent battles in the Donetsk region, leading to its eventual disbandment.

The 328th regiment of the 104th division of the Russian Air Force, currently commanded by Ishtuganov, was reconstituted in the fall of 2023 specifically for the war against Ukraine. Since at least November, it has been deployed in the Kherson region, responsible for the left (southern) bank of the Dnipro.

Servicemen from this unit have been accused of engaging in extortion, robbery, and the murder of civilians in the temporarily occupied areas of the Kherson region. Reports also highlight the harsh treatment by commanders toward their personnel, including instances of abuse, torture, and extrajudicial killings.

Ukrainian ombudsman Dmitry Lubynets has appealed to the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross concerning this incident, urging the international community to hold Russia accountable for war crimes committed against Ukraine and Ukrainians.

Meanwhile, Russian propagandistic Telegram channels and milbloggers have been actively spreading disinformation, claiming that the video depicts the killing of “Polish mercenaries” rather than AFU fighters.