Ukrainian Intelligence Intercepts Russian Military Order to Execute POW

Ukrainian intelligence has intercepted a communication between Russian military commanders and their subordinates, revealing an order to execute a captured soldier from Ukraine’s Defense Forces.

According to Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR), the intercepted conversation involves a commander from the 60th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the Russian 5th Army. The commander instructed his subordinate to “personally deal with” and “neutralize” the prisoner of war.

The audio reportedly captures a conversation in which a subordinate informs the commander about the capture of a Ukrainian soldier during a mission. In response, the commander gave a clear directive to execute the prisoner.

“This represents yet another documented violation of international humanitarian law by the occupying forces,” stated HUR. “It is evidence of the systemic nature of such actions during Russia’s ongoing military campaign.”

Earlier, on December 22, Russian forces executed five unarmed Ukrainian prisoners of war, as confirmed by a video released by Ukraine’s 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade. The video shows the soldiers being forced to surrender, separated, and shot. Ukraine’s Human Rights Commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets, stated that the incident would be reported to the UN and the ICRC

Captured Russian soldier revealed that troops had been instructed to execute Ukrainian prisoners of war. According to Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service, the soldier admitted receiving orders not to surrender and to “neutralize” prisoners. Ukrainian officials have documented 109 POW executions by Russian forces in 2024.