Pro-Russian Telegram channels have circulated a video showing Ukrainian soldiers allegedly capturing soldiers in Russian uniforms. Along with this recording, another video was published, taken from the same place: on the frames you can see the corpses of captured soldiers in the yard.
The first recording shows a destroyed house – 11 men dressed in the uniform of the Russian army come out of it. They walk with their hands up and lie down on the ground, they are ordered to leave by other military men dressed in the uniform of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. One of the soldiers in the form of the Ukrainian army says: “Who is the officer? Is everyone out? Come on out." After that, another person comes out of the house, his figure in the shadows. The footage shows that he starts shooting towards the camera. The recording is terminated. Background music is superimposed on the footage.
The second video shows the prisoners from above – dead, they lie in a row.
Russian military correspondents-propagandists claim that the footage shows the execution of Russian servicemen by Ukrainians in the village of Makeyevka, Luhansk region. On November 16, Ukraine announced the liberation of Makiivka. And on November 17, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that all attacks by Ukrainian troops were allegedly repulsed.
The second video – with dead men in Russian uniforms – was published on November 13 by the Ukrainian telegram channel "Operational ZSU" with the caption: "The result of the robotic 120mm mortar."
Israel Defense Forces officer, military expert Yigal Levin, in his channel expresses a different version. On the footage, he writes, it is clear that a man dressed in the uniform of the Russian army and the last to leave the house decided not to drop his weapon, but opened fire from it towards the fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. “In this situation, the return fire of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is more than justified, since no one knows which of those who surrendered had hidden weapons and grenades with them. This is not an execution, the occupier who opened fire himself killed his squad, ”says Levin.
The Russian Ministry of Defense reacted to the video and accused the Armed Forces of Ukraine of war crimes. The agency called it "the mass bloody massacre of Ukrainian military personnel over unarmed Russian prisoners of war," which supposedly "confirms the savage nature of the current Kyiv regime led by Zelensky and those who protect and support it." The Investigative Committee opened a criminal case on the murder and ill-treatment of Russian prisoners of war on the territory of the LPR.
The Insider asked to comment on the video of an officer of the Ukrainian special operations forces. In his opinion, what happened corresponds to the logic of the battle: the Ukrainian fighters – there are several of them on the video – could have died when the Russian military suddenly opened fire from around the corner. The prisoners who were lying on the ground at that moment could also begin to act. “The Ukrainian military opened fire to kill in order to avoid the escape of prisoners. This is war, people are killing each other. This is not capture the flag. The goal is to destroy the enemy, not to capture prisoners."
“I think the Russian military made an attempt to free his fighters. He assessed the situation, his chances, thought that he had the opportunity to free them and accepted the fight. This is a war, both sides are making smart moves. No one here can be accused of violating the rules and customs of warfare. One of the rules of close combat says: if part of the unit laid down its arms, but the unit did not completely surrender, then it must be destroyed during a direct combat encounter. That is, a part laid down its arms, a part did not lay down, the unit is considered destroyed or not completely destroyed. Everything happened like a military clash. It was not an execution, ”says the interlocutor.