Video Showing Execution of 6 Ukrainian POWs Sparks Outrage, Leads to Identification of Alleged Russian Perpetrator

A video showing the execution of six unarmed Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russian soldiers began circulating online on Thursday, Jan. 23.

In the video, the date and location of which Kyiv Post was unable to independently verify, but said to be in the Donetsk region, Russian soldiers are seen shooting six captured Ukrainian soldiers. The fate of a seventh soldier is unclear, as the video cuts off.

Trigger warning! Sensitive content

Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, reacted to the footage on Telegram:

“The shooting of each prisoner occurs in front of their comrades. The occupiers order them to ‘lie down and shut their mouths,’ while the ‘operator’ of the crime says ‘One is mine,’ before firing a series of bullets into the back of one of the prisoners.”

Video showcases brutality 

He said that the video shows the Russian military’s “criminality.”

“I am once again sending information about this [type of] crime to the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross [ICRC]. This must be recorded! The lack of accountability has turned this crime into a systematic one,” Lubinets wrote.

The Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office announced that a pre-trial investigation has been launched into the shooting of Ukrainian POWs in the Donetsk region.

“Investigative actions are ongoing to determine the full circumstances of the crime and identify those responsible,” the report reads.

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The Evocation resource team, which tracks propagandists and collaborators, reported that Russian forces attempted to conceal the execution.

Before the shooting, they waited for a drone to fly from the crime scene and swapped their weapons for AK-47 assault rifles, which were likely captured. It is believed the filming was intended for a personal archive.

Junior Sergeant Stanislav Bunyatov of the 24th Aidar Assault Battalion commented on the execution in a Telegram post, adding that Russian forces not only treat Ukrainians with cruelty but “easily shoot their own people.”

“It’s heartbreaking for our soldiers, who were not properly trained and failed to report enemy movements in time,” Bunyatov wrote. “Based on certain factors, I conclude that the executed soldiers were not infantry.”

Alleged Russian executioner identified

According to Evocation, the soldier who executed the prisoners was Oleg Yakovlev, a member of the Storm unit in Russia’s 30th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade. This brigade suffered significant losses in the battles for Avdiivka and Ocheretyne, per the report.

The soldiers involved in the execution refer to the main shooter in the video by the call sign “Sara,” which helped Osinters identify Yakovlev. On Telegram, he is listed under the name “Papa Sara.”

Evocation also found photos on Yakovlev’s social media showing him in military gear labeled “Sara.”

“This individual previously made headlines when his comrades reportedly beat him for drug use,” Evocation reported.

Kyiv Post reviewed a video shared by the Russian Telegram channel Red Birds18+ in November 2023. In the video, a man resembling Yakovlev appears visibly under the influence of drugs, prompting outrage and condemnation from his fellow soldiers.

Trigger warning! Sensitive content

The video is captioned, “Another one under ‘salt’ (a slang term for synthetic drugs) at the position.”

In the footage, the soldier is beaten and threatened with execution in a pit. He pleads for mercy, invoking God, as his comrades forcibly drag him toward the pit before the video abruptly ends.

Kyiv Post cannot independently confirm that the individual in the video is Yakovlev.

The Evocation also determined that Yakovlev hails from Saratov.

“In civilian life, Yakovlev worked in cesspool maintenance and was involved in alcohol and drug use. He even writes rap songs about his drug experiences,” the report said.

Osinters further discovered that Yakovlev is divorced and has two daughters.

Ukrainian POWs in danger

Russian forces have intensified the brutal execution of Ukrainian POWs, with 49 criminal cases under investigation in connection to the murders of 124 prisoners, according to Denys Lysenko from Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office on Nov. 6, 2024.

Lysenko reported that executions have reached “unprecedented levels” since late 2023, with the Donetsk region seeing the highest number—62 POWs killed in 17 separate incidents.

Atrocities have also been recorded in Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv regions.

In the village of Niu York, in the Donetsk region, in October 2024, three unarmed Ukrainian POWs were executed by a group of Russian soldiers. The execution was captured by a drone and later released by the 12th Special Purpose Brigade “Azov” of the National Guard of Ukraine. Ukrainian fighters from this brigade later captured one of the Russian soldiers involved in the execution.

He admitted to receiving orders to kill the prisoners: “They said on the radio: ‘They took three? Zero them.’” He also revealed that Russian forces execute their own soldiers who refuse to fight.

One of the most shocking incident took place in the Pokrovsk district of eastern Ukraine, where 16 POWs attempting to surrender were reportedly executed. Video evidence showed Ukrainian soldiers lined up and shot, with any survivors then finished off.

Ukraine’s Prosecutor General called this the largest documented execution of POWs on the front lines, describing it as part of a deliberate Russian policy of torture and murder.