“Leave One Alive, Eliminate the Rest”—Russian Soldiers Reportedly Execute Ukrainian POWs

A Russian military Telegram channel released a video, recorded on a drone, showing three Ukrainian soldiers surrendering, ASTRA reported on February 17,

A Russian unit commander is heard stating that they have been in an exposed position for too long. He then repeatedly orders his troops to leave one Ukrainian prisoner alive and “eliminate” the other two. The footage captures the execution of one of the Ukrainian soldiers.

“In the video, the commander leading the assault group, realizing that because of the surrendered khokhol , the entire group was in the open for too long and was exposing itself to unjustified risk, gave the order “Eliminate!” Which was almost immediately carried out,” the author of the published video wrote, ASTRA wrote.

The time and location of the recording is unknown.

The Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, wrote on his Telegram channel that this is yet another “cynical crime.”

“Russian military channels are publishing videos of what appears to be the execution of Ukrainian servicemen captured by Russian forces. In the footage, Russian soldiers can be heard repeatedly receiving orders to shoot the prisoners. This highlights that executions are a deliberate policy of Russia, ‘ Lubinets stated, adding that such actions violate international humanitarian law and the Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights confirmed a rising number of executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russian forces. On February 3, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Andrii Sybiha, stated that at least 79 cases have been documented since late August 2024.