Russia’s Brazen Defiance: Mass Execution of Ukrainian POWs Sparks International Alarm
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has spoken out against the execution of Ukrainian soldiers, indicating that Russian commanders are either complicit or actively participating in these war crimes, flagrant violations of international law.
In a grim development, Russian forces have carried out yet another mass execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs). A video, geolocated and released on December 22, shows Russian troops gunning down five Ukrainian POWs at the border of the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions in Blagodatne, south of Velika Novoselka.
ISW analysts argue that Russian commanders are either turning a blind eye or actively encouraging their subordinates to participate in these atrocities, a clear breach of international law.
This is not an isolated incident. In October, ISW reported on the increasing frequency of such executions, with Russian commanders complicit or actively encouraging the practice.
The grim tally of such incidents has been rising so steeply that even Lubinets, a Ukrainian official, noted that the number of documented Ukrainian soldier executions by Russian forces in 2024 has nearly doubled compared to the previous two years of conflict combined.
