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Ukrainian POWs Executed by Russian Troops in Zaporizhzhia: AP Video Evidence Released
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![Photo of Liubava Petriv]( "Photo of Liubava Petriv")
On April 10, the Associated Press released footage showing the execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) by Russian forces in the village of Piatykhatky, Zaporizhzhia region.
The AP obtained two different videos—one capturing what actually happened, and another depicting how Russian media presents the incident on social networks.
The first video, recorded by a Ukrainian drone from the 128th Mountain Brigade, shows four Ukrainian soldiers lying face-down after surrendering. After being searched, a Russian soldier approaches and opens fire, followed by others. The execution takes place at close range, leaving no survivors.
The second video, allegedly filmed by a Russian drone and shared on pro-Kremlin social media, tells a different story. It shows Russian soldiers ordering the Ukrainians out of a ruined house at gunpoint, but cuts off just before the execution.
According to AP, experts and officials have raised concerns about the incident. Rollo Collins from the Center for Information Resilience, a London-based group specializing in visual investigations, described it as “one of the clearest cases” of an execution since late 2023.
“Our assessment is that this is not a typical combat killing. This is an illegal action,” said Collins.
Danielle Bell, head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, highlighted a growing number of executions of Ukrainian POWs, linking them to dehumanizing rhetoric, amnesty laws, and a lack of accountability.
“We’ve documented a startling spike in the number of executions of captured Ukrainian service persons,” said Bell. “Calls on social media by public officials, amnesty laws, dehumanizing language within the context of impunity for these acts — it’s contributing to an environment that allows such acts or these crimes to take place.”
AP reports that according to Ukrainian officials, at least 245 Ukrainian POWs have been killed by Russian forces since the start of the full-scale war.
Yurii Bielousov, Ukraine’s lead war crimes investigator, suggests these acts are not isolated incidents. “It’s definitely part of the policy, which is fully supported by the top leaders of the Russian Federation,” stated Bielousov. “This isn’t the action of specific commanders. It is supported on the top level.”
Previously, it as reported that Russian leader Vladimir Putin visited a command post in the Kursk region for the first time since Ukraine launched operations in the area. During the visit, he declared that Ukrainian prisoners of war captured in the region would be treated as terrorists under Russian law.
-21d0b63c17f6020e4df75f6c6f9a2f4f.jpg "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
