Russian War Crimes Continue as Civilians Are Executed and Child Taken Hostage on Lyman Axis

Russian forces have committed another war crime on the Lyman axis. In the area of the village of Shandryholove, Russians shot an entire civilian family and took a young girl hostage, the Third Army Corps reported on September 24.

According to intercepted communications, even before the assault began, the Russian commander with the call sign “Bali” ordered his troops to “destroy the civilian population” and to “kill everyone indiscriminately.”

The Russian unit entered a residential house, executed the parents, and abducted their daughter. The girl is now being used as a human shield to cover Russian assault groups as they continue their offensive.

Interceptions confirm that the crime was premeditated.

The Corps emphasized that timely evacuation from combat zones is critical to protecting civilians from Russian forces.

The Donetsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office has also launched an investigation into the killing of another civilian in the settlement of Novoeconomichne, Pokrovsk district. According to the inquiry, on August 28, a Russian infantry soldier concealed himself behind a garage on private property. When he saw an elderly man in the yard, he deliberately opened fire with an automatic weapon, killing the civilian on the spot.

Officials stress that both incidents further demonstrate Russia’s deliberate policy of terror against Ukraine’s civilian population, in clear violation of international humanitarian law.

Earlier, Radio Liberty released surveillance footage confirming that Russian soldiers executed 70-year-old Volodymyr Rubailo in Bucha on March 4, 2022. The video captures troops shooting the unarmed civilian near a supermarket and then looting the store. Investigators have identified the perpetrators as members of Russia’s 234th Air Assault Brigade.

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