Ukraine’s defense intelligence released an alleged audio interception of Russian military personnel receiving an order to kill Ukrainian servicemen taken prisoner in the Popasna district of Luhansk region.
Invading Russian forces are targeting the city and other urban areas of the region as part of a new offensive in the eastern part of the country. Serhiy Haidai, head of the Luhansk regional military administration said on April 20 that Ukraine controls about 20 percent of the region’s territory.
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In an excerpt published on Twitter of the audio intercepts, a voice on the recording says: “Leave the eldest of them, let the others go…forever…so that no one will ever see them again, including their relatives.”
It is unclear from the conversation whether the order relates to already captured military personnel or for future captives.
“This is an outright war crime, a violation of international law and another clear example that the Russian army is murderers, rapists and looters and in no way military,” the intelligence statement said.
The Kyiv Post couldn’t independently verify the authenticity of the audio recording or to personify the voices of people on it.
Numerous mass graves of executed civilians have been discovered in liberated Ukrainian cities and towns since Kremlin despot Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of the neighboring country.
Five prisoner exchanges have taken place so far.
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